Egypt's Sisi says Russian plane downed by 'terrorism'
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi acknowledged militants brought down the Russian plane over Sinai
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday that the Russian plane that crashed in Sinai last year was downed by terrorists seeking to damage Egypt’s tourism industry and relations with Moscow.
“Has terrorism ended, no it has not but it will if we unite. Whoever downed the Russian plane, what did he mean? He meant to hit tourism, and to hit relations with Russia,” Sisi said in a televised speech.
The comments were the first official Egyptian indication that the plane was deliberately downed.
Moscow stopped all civilian flights to Egypt, a popular destination for Russian tourists, after a Russian airplane crashed in Sinai on Oct. 31 killing all 224 people on board.
Russia said a bomb brought down the flight and ISIS said it smuggled the explosive aboard concealed in a soft drink can. But an Egyptian-led investigation had said it has yet to find evidence of foul play.
The official Egyptian confirmation that a bomb brought down the Airbus A321 could potentially expose Egypt to compensation payments to the families of the victims.
-
Bomb kills two Egyptian soldiers in Sinai: Army
Two Egyptian soldiers, one an officer, were killed by an explosion as they tried to defuse a roadside bomb in the Sinai Peninsula Middle East -
Bomb kills two police in Egypt’s Sinai: ministry
A bomb blast killed two Egyptian police officers and wounded five others in an attack on their armored vehicle in the Sinai Peninsula Middle East -
ISIS claims deadly attack on Egyptian soldiers in Sinai
Wednesday’s bombing in North Sinai’s provincial capital of El-Arish targeted the troops’ armored vehicle Middle East -
Bomb kills 4 soldiers in Egypt’s Sinai
Hundreds of Egyptian policemen and soldiers have been killed during attacks in North Sinai since 2013 Middle East -
ISIS claims responsibility for bombing in Egypt’s Sinai
The blasts in the city of al-Arish, northern Sinai, came a day after the second round of a parliamentary election closed Middle East