Report: Bomb on Russian Jet Was in Passenger Cabin

Russian newspaper says it wasn't hidden in cargo
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 18, 2015 6:34 AM CST
Report: Bomb on Russian Jet Was in Passenger Cabin
A Russian investigator walks near wreckage in Hassana, Egypt, in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

Now that Moscow is on board with the thinking that a bomb brought down a Russian passenger jet over Egypt, a newspaper in Russia is reporting that the explosive was in a surprising place: the main passenger cabin. The Kommersant quotes an anonymous investigator who says the device was likely placed under a passenger seat near a window in the tail section, not hidden in the cargo hold, reports Reuters. How it got there remains under investigation, but NBC News reports that Egyptian authorities have detained two workers at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport. So far, no arrests have been made. Vladimir Putin is talking tough, saying of the terrorists responsible, per the Straits Times: "To forgive them is up to God, but to send them to him is up to me."

Russia has offered a $50 million reward in what it now considers to be an ISIS attack, and the New York Times reports that Moscow has begun working closely with France on airstrikes in Syria. President Obama, too, expressed a willingness to coordinate more with Russia, though the Times notes that the two countries' fundamental disagreement on whether Bashar al-Assad should stay in power will limit that. The crash of the Metrojet plane killed all 224 people aboard. (More Russia stories.)

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