MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Explosion of a bomb on board the Russian A321 could be the possible cause of the crash, the American global intelligence company (Stratfor) said Monday.
"It seems that the most probable explanation for the downed plane is the existence of an explosive device onboard," Stratfor reported.
According to the intelligence company, structural failure of an aircraft, jihadists attack or electrical failure are unlikely reasons of the crash.
The Russian Kogalymavia A321 passenger airliner crashed en route from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on Saturday. All 224 people on board, including 25 children, were killed. The tragedy is the largest air disaster in Russian and Soviet history.
"Combined with the fact that it is quite easy to smuggle explosives onto an aircraft, the airport's lax security increases the likelihood that an explosive device detonated onboard [Airbus A321] Flight 9268," the report stated on Tuesday.
Security agents at Sharm el-Sheikh airport, the report claimed, often accept bribes in exchange for allowing passengers to circumvent checkpoints while its cargo security screenings are much less stringent than US and European airports.
The report also noted that jihadists have used numerous sophisticated bombs in Egypt in recent months, and the deployment of an effective improvised explosive device onto the plane "would fall within the capabilities of the al-Qaeda or ISIL groups active in the country."
Aircraft are attractive targets for jihadists because they are fragile and their destruction garners a massive amount of media attention "that has magnified the amount of terror felt among the population."
It is unlikely, the report maintained, that terrorists in Sinai shot down the aircraft with a man-portable air defense system, or MANPADS, because Flight 9268 was well out of range.
ISIL terrorist group operating in the Sinai Peninsula took responsibility for the incident.
However, US authorities said they have not seen any reports that would indicate that the Islamic State terrorists were involved in taking down the Russian Airbus A321 passenger jet.
