Russian and Egyptian investigators are working to establish the cause of the crash of the Russian airliner in the Egyptian Sinai peninsula that killed all 224 people on board, including 17 children.
The plane crashed 23 minutes into its flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg on Saturday. Most of those on board were Russian tourists.
A group that said it was speaking on behalf of terrorist group Islamic State later posted an online statement claiming: “Soldiers of the caliphate were able to bring down a Russian plane above Sinai province.â€
But Russia’s transport minister, Maksim Sokolov, said the claim “can’t be considered accurateâ€.
Mohamed Samir, Egypt’s army spokesman, also disputed the claim.
“They can put out whatever statements they want but there is no proof at this point that terrorists were responsible for this plane crash. We will know the true reasons when the Civil Aviation Authority in coordination with Russian authorities completes its investigation. But the army sees no authenticity to the claims.â€
