Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Guardian reports:
The British government has suspended all flights to the UK from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after declaring it believes the Russian plane that crashed over Sinai may have been brought down by an explosive device. The government ordered a temporary moratorium on flights from the beach resort while security assessments were carried out, after receiving specific intelligence in the last 24 hours about the plane crash that killed 224 people on Saturday. It is the strongest statement by any country so far that suggests a bomb or other device could have brought the plane down. The UK has intervened despite playing no part in the crash’s official investigation committee, which is formed from representatives from Ireland, where the plane is registered, Russia, where its operators are based, France, where the plane was designed, and Germany, where it was made.
More from the Washington Post:
Britain said it had deployed additional consular staff to the Sharm el-Sheikh airport to advise and assist British tourists. The suspension of flights came just a day before British Prime Minister David Cameron is due to host Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi in London. The statement from 10 Downing Street on Wednesday said that Cameron and Sissi had spoken by phone on Tuesday evening to discuss security at the airport in Sharm el-Sheikh. “While the investigation is still ongoing we cannot say categorically why the Russian jet crashed,” Downing Street said in its statement. “But as more information has come to light we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device.” A spokesperson for Cameron said the prime minister and Sissi had discussed “the need for security measures to be enhanced out of the airport.”
UPDATE: US officials now say it was probably an ISIS bomb.
The latest U.S. intelligence suggests that the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 was most likely caused by a bomb on the plane planted by ISIS or an ISIS affiliate, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The official stressed that there has not been a formal conclusion reached by the U.S. intelligence community. “There is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage or somewhere on the plane,” the official told CNN’s Barbara Starr.