U.S. Intelligence: ISIS Bomb Likely Destroyed Russian Plane

Not long after British officials voiced suspicions that a bomb destroyed a Russian plane over the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people, an American official said U.S. intelligence also has “a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage or somewhere on the plane.”

The report comes from CNN, which says other U.S. officials also said their analysis is pointing toward a bomb attack. Based on this intelligence, CNN’s source said ISIS, or a group affiliated with them, is most likely responsible for the attack.

As with U.K. intelligence, the American officials noted their conclusions were only tentative, and a formal consensus has not been reached. The British government is holding an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon on the plane crash, and the safety of aviation in Egypt.

The Russians seem to believe there was an explosion aboard the plane, although they have so far been reluctant to declare it a terrorist attack, or name ISIS as the likely perpetrator. The UK Telegraph suggests Russian president Vladimir Putin’s political situation could be delicate here – he may either gain more public support for action in Syria due to public outrage, or his government might be criticized for allowing the destruction of the plane.