Until Tuesday, Russia had played down assertions from Western countries that the crash, which killed 224 people on Oct. 31, was a terrorist incident, saying it was important to let the official investigation run its course.
But in a late night Kremlin meeting on Monday, three days after Islamist gunmen and bombers killed 129 people in Paris, Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s FSB security service, told a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin that traces of foreign-made explosives had been found on fragments of the downed plane and on passengers’ personal belongings.
“According to an analysis by our specialists, a home-made bomb containing up to one kilogram of TNT detonated during the flight, causing the plane to break up in mid-air, which explains why parts of the fuselage were spread over such a large distance,” said Bortnikov.
“We can unequivocally say it was a terrorist act,” Bortnikov said in footage that was not released until Tuesday morning.
Putin responded by saying the incident was one of the bloodiest acts in modern Russian history and ordered the Russian air force to intensify its air strikes in Syria in response.
“It (our campaign) must be intensified in such a way that the criminals understand that retribution is inevitable,” said Putin.
Ordering the country’s secret service to hunt down those responsible for blowing up the plane, he said the effort to bring them to justice should be exhaustive.
“We will search for them everywhere, wherever they are hiding. We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them,” Putin said.
Egyptian authorities detained two employees of Sharm El Sheikh airport in connection with the plane’s downing, two security officials said on Tuesday.
“Seventeen people are being held, two of them are suspected of helping whoever planted the bomb on the plane at Sharm El Sheikh airport,” one of the officials said.
Unlike Britain and the United States, Egypt has not yet confirmed a bomb downed the jet.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
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17/11/15
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Le ministère égyptien de l'intérieur a démenti l'information concernant l'arrestation de deux employés de l'aéroport de Charm el-Cheikh soupçonnés de complicité avec les terroristes ayant placé une bombe dans l'A321 russe...
ReplyDeleteAuparavant Reuters, citant une source au sein des services de sécurité égyptiens, avait annoncé que deux employés de l'aéroport de Charm el-Cheikh soupçonnés de complicité avec les terroristes ayant placé une bombe dans l'A321 russe qui s'est écrasé dans le Sinaï, avaient été interpellés.
"On a arrêté au total 17 personnes, dont deux sont soupçonnées d’avoir aidé ceux qui ont déposé une bombe à bord de l’avion à Charm el-Cheikh", avait indiqué une source de l’agence Reuters.
fr.sputniknews.com
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Russia’s air force operation in Syria should be intensified...
ReplyDelete"Our combat aviation’s work in Syria should not be simply continued. It should be reinforced in a way that criminals realize that punishment is inevitable," Putin said at a meeting he held late on Monday.
Russia’s Federal Security Service Chief Alexander Bortnikov reported to the president at the meeting that the recent Russian airliner crash on the Sinai peninsula had been caused by a terrorist act.
"I request the Defense Ministry and the General Staff to submit corresponding proposals. I’ll check how work is proceeding," Putin said.
Putin also instructed the Defense Ministry "to turn to all our partners." "We count on all our friends in the course of this work, including the search for and the punishment of criminals," the Russian president said.
"We’ll act pursuant to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which stipulates the right of states to self-defense," the Russian leader said............http://tass.ru/en/politics/837107