This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/world/europe/russia-plane-crash-bomb.html

The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Russia Confirms Bomb Brought Down Plane in Egypt Russia Confirms Bomb Brought Down Plane in Egypt
(about 3 hours later)
MOSCOW — Russia confirmed for the first time on Tuesday that a homemade bomb brought down a Russian charter jet over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt more than two weeks ago, killing all 224 people aboard. MOSCOW — Hours after confirming for the first time on Tuesday that a homemade bomb brought down a Russian charter jet over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt more than two weeks ago, killing all 224 people aboard, Russia joined France in bombing Islamic State targets in Syria.
“We can say definitely that this was a terrorist act,” Alexander V. Bortnikov, the head of the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., said in remarks to Russia’s Security Council. For a second straight day French warplanes hit a command post and a recruitment center for jihadists in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, the French Ministry of Defense announced on its website, while Russian news reports said a Russian submarine had fired cruise missiles at Islamic State targets in the same area.
An “improvised explosive device” had detonated soon after the plane took off from the resort city of Sharm el Sheikh, he said in remarks broadcast nationally. “The plane disintegrated in midair, which explains the widely scattered fuselage pieces.” Russia struck Raqqa with advanced Kalibr cruise missiles launched from a submarine in the eastern Mediterranean, the RBC news agency reported, citing sources in the Russian Defense Ministry. The agency said it was the first time Russia had fired cruise missiles from a submarine during a war.
British and American inteligence agencies strongly suggested that a bomb had brought down the Metrojet Airbus A321 just days after it went down on Oct. 31. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack within hours, although it did not provide any proof. There were also news agency reports of Russian fighter-bombers hitting Islamic State targets in Syria, but those could not be confirmed
The announcement from the Kremlin was the first, clearly definitive statement from Russia that the plane was brought down by a terrorist act, although leaders had been moving in that direction after initially criticizing the early suggestions a that a bomb was responsible. The strike came after President Vladimir V. Putin ordered an intensification of attacks following Russian confirmation that the crash of a Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt had been a terrorist attack.
After hedging for 17 days, Russian officials acknowledged on Tuesday that the passenger jet had been downed by a bomb. “We can say definitely that this was a terrorist act,” Alexander V. Bortnikov, the head of the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., said in remarks to Russia’s Security Council Monday night and broadcast nationally on Tuesday morning.
An “improvised explosive device” had detonated soon after the plane took off from the resort city of Sharm el Sheikh, he said, adding that “the plane disintegrated in midair, which explains the widely scattered fuselage pieces.”
British and American intelligence agencies reached much the same conclusion within days after the Metrojet Airbus A321 exploded and crashed on Oct. 31. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack within hours, although it did not provide any proof.
The announcement from the Kremlin was the first, clearly definitive statement from Russia that the plane was brought down by a terrorist act, although leaders had been moving in that direction after initially criticizing early suggestions that a bomb was responsible.
Asked if Russia had concluded that the Islamic State was behind the attack, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said the group had exported terrorism to other countries but that Russia could not say definitively that the Islamic State was responsible, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.Asked if Russia had concluded that the Islamic State was behind the attack, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said the group had exported terrorism to other countries but that Russia could not say definitively that the Islamic State was responsible, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Most tourist flights to the Red Sea resort have been suspended since the crash because of security concerns that a member of airport staff was able to slip the bomb on board.Most tourist flights to the Red Sea resort have been suspended since the crash because of security concerns that a member of airport staff was able to slip the bomb on board.
The bomb contained up to 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of TNT, Mr. Bortnikov said, adding that “foreign made” explosive material was found on parts of the plane and other objects that were examined.The bomb contained up to 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of TNT, Mr. Bortnikov said, adding that “foreign made” explosive material was found on parts of the plane and other objects that were examined.
Russia has offered $50 million for any information leading to the capture of those who carried out the attack, and President Vladimir V. Putin vowed to track them down.Russia has offered $50 million for any information leading to the capture of those who carried out the attack, and President Vladimir V. Putin vowed to track them down.
“We will search for them everywhere, no matter where they are hiding,” Mr. Putin said at a meeting with his security council that was broadcast on national television. “We will find them in any place on the planet and will punish them.”“We will search for them everywhere, no matter where they are hiding,” Mr. Putin said at a meeting with his security council that was broadcast on national television. “We will find them in any place on the planet and will punish them.”
Mr. Putin said the attacks by the Russian air force in Syria would not only continue but intensify. Mr. Putin said the attacks by the Russian air force in Syria would not only continue but intensify. “Our military work in Syria must not only be continued, but strengthened so that criminals understand that punishment is inevitable,” he said.
“Our military work in Syria must not only be continued, but strengthened so that criminals understand that punishment is inevitable,” Mr. Putin said.
The Ministry of Defense and the military had been ordered to draw up plans, he said.The Ministry of Defense and the military had been ordered to draw up plans, he said.
In claiming responsibility, the Islamic State branch on the Sinai Peninsula said the attack came in retaliation for Russia’s deployment of its military in Syria, where it is trying to shore up the rule of President Bashar al-Assad by attacking his opponents. In claiming responsibility, the Islamic State branch on the Sinai Peninsula said the attack came in retaliation for Russia’s deployment of its military in Syria, where it has been trying to shore up the rule of President Bashar al-Assad by attacking his opponents, though not primarily the Islamic State.
A spokesman for Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the Russian statement. By early Tuesday afternoon, Egyptian officials had yet to comment on the Russian allegations, except to deny a news report stating that employees at the Sharm El Sheikh airport had been detained in connection to the bombing. The report, by Reuters and citing two security officials, said that 17 employees had been detained, including two employees who were “suspected of helping whoever planted the bomb on the plane,” one of the officials told Reuters.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry and its civil aviation authority quickly issued statements denying the report, with the Interior Ministry saying it was “devoid of truth.” The statements did not detail what investigations, if any, were taking place at the airport.
Egyptian officials have dismissed the possibility of terrorism, sometimes suggesting that theories of a militant attack are part of an international conspiracy against their country.Egyptian officials have dismissed the possibility of terrorism, sometimes suggesting that theories of a militant attack are part of an international conspiracy against their country.
Confirmation that a bomb brought down the plane — and was presumably smuggled through the Sharm el-Sheikh airport — would represent a devastating blow to the country’s tourism industry, and would undermine government claims that the authorities are prevailing in the war against militants based in the Sinai Peninsula. Confirmation that a bomb brought down the plane — and was presumably smuggled through the Sharm el-Sheikh airport — would represent a devastating blow to the country’s vital tourism industry, and would undermine government claims that the authorities are prevailing in the war against militants based in the Sinai Peninsula.