Britain counters Russia, says Islamic State brought down crashed plane

Britain said on Thursday there was a significant possibility that Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate was behind a suspected bomb attack on a Russian airliner that killed 224 people in the Sinai Peninsula.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond disclosed the Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the plane crash.

“ISIL-Sinai have claimed responsibility for bringing down the Russian aircraft, they did that straight away after the crash.

“We have looked at the whole information picture, including that claim, but of course lots of other bits of information as well, and concluded that there is a significant possibility,” Hammond said.

US and European security sources say evidence now suggested that a bomb planted by Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate – Sinai Province – was the likely cause of the crash.

The sources, however, said they had reached no final conclusions about the crash.

Islamic State, which wants to create a caliphate across the Muslim world, is also called ISIS and ISIL.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, launched air raids against opposition groups in Syria including Islamic State on Sept. 30.

The hard-line group had called for war against both Russia and the U.S. in response to their air strikes in Syria.

Britain had decided to stop flights from Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh Resort to gain more time to assess security in the town, where the Russian plane started its ill-fated journey.