Egypt says it found no proof Russian airliner over Sinai downed by ISIS, terrorists

Peter Weber, The Week US's avatar
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Soldiers stand over luggage from the Metrojet plane that crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
(Image credit: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia has blamed the Oct. 31 crash of a passenger plane over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on an explosive device smuggled aboard by the Islamic State, and Western intelligence agencies have reached a similar conclusion, but on Monday, Egypt said that it has found no evidence of terrorism. "The technical investigative committee has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action," Egypt's civil aviation authority said in a statement attributed to chief investigator Ayman el-Muqadam. The committee, he added, is "continuing its work."

The plane took off from the popular Red Sea vacation spot Sharm al-Sheikh, and the subsequent drop in tourism has been a blow to Egypt's economy. All 224 people on the plane died in the crash.

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Peter Weber, The Week US
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.