Obama says bomb may have caused Egypt plane crash

US President Barack Obama raised the possibility Nov. 5 that a bomb brought down a Russian plane that crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, undermining efforts by Cairo and Moscow to downplay the suggestion of an attack.

With concerns over security mounting, a number of European airlines readied to bring home thousands of tourists from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where the plane took off last Oct. 31.
 
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group has claimed responsibility for the disaster, in which the Saint Petersburg-bound jet crashed minutes after taking off, killing all 224 mainly Russian tourists on board.
 
"I think there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board and we are taking that very seriously," Obama told a US radio station, while emphasising it was too early to say for sure.
 
In London, where David Cameron was hosting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the British premier told reporters it was "more likely than not that it was a terrorist bomb" that caused the crash.
 
And The Times newspaper reported on Nov. 6 that electronic communications intercepted by British and American spies suggested a bomb may have been carried onto the plane.
 
"The tone and content of the messages convinced analysts that a bomb had been carried on board by a passenger or a member of the airport ground staff," the newspaper reported, without giving a source.
        
But Egypt's civil aviation minister Hossam Kamal said there was "as yet no evidence or data confirming the theory" of an attack and the Kremlin has dismissed the notion as "speculation".
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who authorised strikes against fighters including ISIL militants in...