Ex-CIA official says Russian jet crash shows ISIL ‘winning’
Former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell has said the crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt would boost the perception that Daesh (ISIL) is “winning.”
A growing number of US intelligence, military, and national security officials have indicated in recent days that the Airbus A321 was brought down by a bomb planted by terrorists.
The airliner, which was on its way to Saint Petersburg, disintegrated over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, minutes after it took off from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, killing all 224 people aboard.
Morell said intercepted chatter among senior ISIL operatives is pushing the assessment of the crash from “possibly” a bomb to “likely,” according to The Hill.
“It’s going to add to the perception that ISIS is winning, and that has been a key strength of theirs in terms of attracting followers, attracting recruits,” he said, using another acronym for the terror network.
Morell also said that the crash might inspire al-Qaeda terrorists to try to carry out similar attacks in order to keep their “brand alive.”
“I think you’re going to see more of that kind of attacking, including attacks against Americans,” he said.
Egyptian investigators have also said that the conversations captured on the plane’s black box indicate that the crash was caused by a bomb.
"We are 90 percent sure it was a bomb," Reuters quoted a member of the Egyptian team as saying on Sunday.
An Egyptian militant group affiliated with Daesh terrorists said last Saturday it brought down the plane "in response to Russian airstrikes” in Syria.
The United States has revamped its strategy against Daesh more than a year after American warplanes began bombing purported Daesh positions in Iraq and Syria.
President Barack Obama has also approved a plan to send dozens of special operations forces to Syria to assist allied militants fighting against the Syrian government and Daesh terrorists.
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