Russian plane crash: UK suspects bomb was placed in hold

The government decided terrorism was likely after receiving intelligence based on intercepted messages between militants in the Sinai peninsula.

Britain suspended all flights to and from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday.

Britons are due to begin returning home on Friday, but only with hand luggage.

The Metrojet Airbus A321 was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg when it fell from the sky last Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. Most of the victims were Russian.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says that although British officials have not ruled out the possibility of a technical fault bringing the plane down, they think that is increasingly unlikely.

Investigators in the UK's security service suspect someone with access to the aircraft's baggage compartment inserted an explosive device inside or on top of the luggage just before the plane took off, he adds.

Sinai-based militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group have claimed they destroyed the plane. IS has called for a war against both Russia and the US over their air strikes in Syria.

US President Barack Obama told a CBS radio station on Thursday that he thought there was "a possibility" that there was a bomb on the downed jet.

"We're taking that very seriously," he said.

However, both Egypt and Russia have said it is too early to draw conclusions.

Since Wednesday, several countries have joined Britain in restricting travel to Sharm-el-Sheikh.

France and Belgium are advising their citizens against all but essential travel to the resort, and the Netherlands is warning against travelling via the resort's airport.

German airline Lufthansa says its subsidiaries Edelweiss and Eurowings are halting flights to Sharm el-Sheikh (from Zurich and Duesseldorf respectively) as a "precautionary" measure, and return flights for customers already there will be arranged.

Russian planes are still flying to and from the resort.

(BBC)