17 November 2015

Kogalymavia flight from Sharm El Sheikh disaster: the investigation is over, the response coming

The end of the investigation part was clear and unequivocal:

An IED (Improvised Explosive Device) with capacity of up to one kilogram of TNT exploded on board the A321 in flight ," said the head of service [FSB]. According to Bortnikov, traces of explosives of foreign manufacture were found in the wreckage of the ship.
The single action item demanded by Putin was no less unequivocal:
President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin, after hearing the report of the head of the FSB Alexander Bortnikov on the terrorist attack on board a Russian A321, ordered the Russian special services to find those responsible for the crash of the plane and eliminate 'all these people.'
Since FSB and its predecessors are not known for their overindulgence in finesse, a lot of scalps, including these of totally unrelated folks, will be brought home.

Update: Egypt, however, doesn't concur with the bomb version.
As the country's prime minister, Arif Ismail said, Cairo will take into account the input from the Russian experts during their investigation of the causes of the crash, and if confirmed, will cooperate with Moscow in apprehending criminals. However, at this point, stressed Ismail, Egyptian investigators did not find evidence of crime in the crash. Moreover, Egypt's Interior Minister Abdel Ghaffar said that the investigation did not reveal security breaches at the airport.
Of course, Egypt and Russia have incompatible preferences for the outcome of the investigation. Egypt is facing a disaster for its tourist industry if the bomb version is confirmed. Russia, all in all, prefers the bomb version that allows its leader(s) to ride the favorite Russian image of the external enemy (Daesh in this case).

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