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Egypt Says Sinai Plane Crash Wasn't Terrorism After All

Russia, western governments and the Islamic State all say a bomb brought down a Russian passenger plane on its way back from an Egyptian tourist resort — but Egypt says otherwise.
Photo by Khaled Elfiqi/EPA

Egypt said on Monday there was no evidence that a terrorist act caused a Russian passenger jet to crash in the Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board — a position at odds with what Russia, western governments, and the Islamic State (IS) have claimed.

Egypt's civil aviation ministry said in a statement Monday that its investigation had "so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action."

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Russia and western intelligence agencies have said they believe the crash was likely a result of a bomb smuggled onto the flight, and IS said it had smuggled an explosive on board.

"The fighters of the Islamic State were able to down a Russian plane over Sinai province that was carrying over 220 Russian crusaders," IS said after the crash, claiming the attack was in retaliation for Russian airstrikes in Syria.

Related: If a Plane Crashes in the Desert and the Egyptian Press Doesn't Make a Sound, Did It Really Happen?

The plane, which was carrying mostly Russians, came down en route to Russia from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Egypt's tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy, has been badly impacted by terrorism over the years and it took a new hit from the crash.

The country's tourism minister said last week the country's tourism revenues in 2015 would be at least 10 percent below 2014's after the incident prompted Moscow and London to suspend flights, and authorities were now working to restore confidence.

Monday's announcement by Egypt contradicts prior preliminary inquiries into the crash. European investigators examined the audio from the plane's black box in November and said that there was evidence of a bomb on board and no indication of any technical malfunction that might have caused the crash, reported CNN.

Russia told Interfax news agency on Monday they had yet to see a copy of Egypt's report. A Kremlin spokesman said: "I can remind you of the conclusion of our experts from the special services, who came to the conclusion that it was a terrorist action."

The White House also said last month that they believed the downing of the plane was a result of terrorist activity.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to go after those responsible for the attack.

Related: US Officials Are Saying the Russian Airliner That Crashed in Egypt Was Likely Bombed

Reuters contributed to this report.