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President Obama: Bomb on Russian Jet a ‘Possibility’

2 minute read
By Maya Rhodan

President Barack Obama said Thursday there is a “possibility” there was a bomb onboard the Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt on Saturday, killing all 224 people on the flight.

“I don’t think we know yet,” said Obama when asked about the cause of the accident, which ISIS has claimed responsibility for, during a Thursday interview with Seattle radio host Dave Ross. “Whenever you got a plane crash, first of all you got the tragedy, you got making sure there’s an investigation on site,” Obama said . “I think there is a possibility there was a bomb onboard. And we are taking that very seriously.”

Obama said the U.S. would “spend a lot of time making sure our own investigators and our own intelligence community knows exactly what’s going on before making any definitive pronouncements.” The President spoke during a round of local interviews from the White House on Thursday. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest also reiterated that the investigations from last weekend’s crash are not yet complete and therefore a concrete determination cannot be made. Russian officials are not drawing any conclusions ahead of the investigation.

[MyNorthwest]

See Photos From the Russian Plane Crash and Its Aftermath

An Egyptian soldier stands guard as emergency workers unload bodies of victims from the crash of a Russian aircraft over the Sinai peninsula from a police helicopter to ambulances at Kabrit military airport, some 20 miles north of Suez, Egypt, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. A Russian Metrojet plane crashed Saturday morning in a mountainous region in the Sinai after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people aboard. Officials said the pilot had reported a technical problem and was looking to make an emergency landing before radio contact with air traffic controllers went dead. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian soldier stands guard as emergency workers unload bodies of victims from the crash of a Russian aircraft over the Sinai peninsula from a police helicopter to ambulances at the military airport in Kabrit, Egypt, on Oct. 31, 2015Amr Nabil—AP
Debris from crashed Russian jet lies strewn across the sand at the site of the crash in the Sinai region in Egypt on Oct. 31, 2015.
Debris from crashed Russian jet lies strewn across the sand at the site of the crash in the Sinai region in Egypt on Oct. 31, 2015. EPA
Russian plane crash site in central Sinai, Egypt
Wreckage at the site where a Russian aircraft crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula near El Arish city, on Nov. 1, 2015.Maxim Grigoryev—ITAR-TASS/Corbis
epa05004879 Ambulances transporting the bodies of the victims of the Russian passenger flight crash arrive at the Zeinhom morgue, Cairo, Egypt, 31 October 2015. According to reports the Egyptian Government has dispatched more than 45 ambulances to the crash site of the Kogalymavia Metrojet Russian passenger jet, which disappeared from raider after requesting an emergency landing early 31 October, crashing in the mountainous al-Hasanah area of central Sinai. The black box has been recovered at the site. Authorities believe all onboard perished in the crash. EPA/MOHAMMED HOSSAM
Ambulances transporting the bodies of the victims of the Russian passenger flight crash arrive at the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo on Oct. 31, 2015.Mohammed Hossam—EPA
People arrange candles to make a cross to commemorate 224 victims of a Russian airliner which crashed in Egypt, on the stairs of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, November 1, 2015. An Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, carrying 224 passengers crashed into a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Saturday shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all aboard. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a day of national mourning for Sunday. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX1U9UO
People arrange candles to make a cross to commemorate 224 victims of a Russian airliner which crashed in Egypt, on the stairs of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow on Nov. 1, 2015. Maxim Shemetov—Reuters

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