Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has told reporters that the United States, Britain and other foreign nations failed to share intelligence with Egypt about the crash of a Russian passenger jet last week.
Shoukry spoke to reporters Saturday in Cairo, complaining that foreign intelligence indicating the possibility of a bomb blast aboard the plane had not “until now” been provided to the Egyptian security services. He did not specify whether “now” referred to days, or to hours.
Shoukry said Egypt had expected that the technical information used by the Western governments would be shared with Cairo.
Bomb indicated
French media report that the black box recorders found in the wreckage of the airliner indicate that a bomb brought down the plane over Egypt last week, killing all 224 on board.
France 2 television and the French news agency AFP cited sources close to the investigation.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder show everything was normal aboard the Russian Metrojet, investigators told AFP.
Then 24 minutes into the flight, “suddenly there was nothing” with one of the boxes registering a loud sound and a “violent, sudden end,” strongly indicating that a bomb went off.
U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have both said it is certainly possible the plane was bombed.
Britain also revealed Saturday that a plane carrying British tourists to Sharm El-Sheikh came within 300 meters of an airborne rocket on August 23, 2015.
The British government said it had concluded that the incident “was not a targeted attack and was likely to be connected to routine exercises being conducted by the Egyptian military” in the area.
Flights suspended
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the bomb theory nothing but speculation.
But Putin Friday suspended all Russian commercial flights to Egypt, heeding the recommendation of his security chief Alexander Bortnikov “until we have determined the true reasons” for the crash.
Putin has also ordered the government to work out details of how to bring as many as 40,000 Russians vacationing in Sharm el-Sheikh back home.
The jet packed with Russian tourists took off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh last Saturday, headed for St. Petersburg.
Intel points to Islamic State
A U.S. official has said intercepted communications point to Islamic State and that someone inside the Sharm el-Sheikh airport helped plant the bomb.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for blowing up the plane, but has not given any proof.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi dismissed Islamic State’s claim as propaganda aimed at damaging Egyptian and security and its tourist industry which is vital to the economy.
British tourists encountered long delays in leaving Sharm el-Sheikh Friday, with the British airline easyJet only making two flights to London and canceling seven others.
No explanation was given, but the airline said Egyptian authorities blocked the additional flights.
British authorities forced the 359 travelers who left Sharm el-Sheikh on the two flights to leave most of their luggage behind, except for carry-on bags, so thorough searches could be conducted before the luggage is out on separate planes.
Other European airlines have also suspended flights to the resort and urged travelers to be extra vigilant during all trips to Egypt.
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