Israeli Intelligence Helped Pinpoint ISIS Role in Sinai Plane Crash
Intelligence intercepts being used to assess what happened to a Russian airplane that crashed over the Sinai Peninsula came from Israel.
Israeli officials would not comment on the claims by an unnamed U.S. official and a diplomatic source, CNN reported Sunday.
The communications between ISIS affiliates in Sinai were captured by Israeli intelligence focused there and passed along to the United States and Britain, the sources said.
Investigators looking into the crash of the Metrojet flight bound for Russia told Reuters on Sunday that they are “90 percent sure” a bomb on board is the cause. All 224 people aboard were killed in the Oct. 31 crash, including a former program director for Hillel Russia.
The Sinai affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for bringing down the passenger flight, saying it was in retaliation for Russian airstrikes on rebels in Syria’s civil war.
Russia began launching airstrikes on Syria in September, saying it was coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad to combat terror groups such as the Islamic State.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.