Initially there had been little or no intelligence commentary from the UK or the US regarding the Russian plane that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula. It was only a few days later that they started to suggest that ISIS, who had immediately claimed credit for the crash, were actually responsible.
According to CNN, a US official said that Israel had provided them with intelligence of their own regarding the Russian plane crash, indicating that a bomb had detonated on board.
The Times Of Israel reports:
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An unnamed US official and diplomatic source said that Jerusalem handed over information about the blast to the US and UK. One US official told the news outlet he was “99.9% certain” the plane had been bombed, while another said it was “likely.”
Israeli officials declined to comment on the report.
Earlier, a member of the Egyptian investigation team said they were nearly certain explosives had brought the plane down, killing all 224 passengers on board.
“The indications and analysis so far of the sound on the black box indicate it was a bomb,” an investigator — who asked to not be identified — told Reuters. “We are 90 percent sure it was a bomb.”
As for the slim chance of another explanation to the crash, the investigator only commented, “I can’t discuss this now.”
US and British officials have cited intelligence reports indicating that the October 31 flight from the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg was brought down by a bomb on the plane.
Interestingly, on the same day as the plane crash, Israel was conducting their ‘Largest Ever’ air combat drill close by.
The military exercises included Israeli, American, Greek, and Polish air personnel, together “squaring off against a fictional enemy state in two-week drill”.
Niamh Harris