Israeli defense chief believes Russian plane crash "a terror attack"

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Monday that Israel believes a bomb planted by militants on a Russian plane in Egypt is responsible for its crash.

The Russian Airbus A-321 plane, carrying 224 passengers and crews, crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula shortly after taking off on its way to St. Petersburg on October 31.

"There's a very high probability that the crash was a terror attack," Ya'alon said on Monday, according to a statement from his office.

"We're not involved with the investigation, but from what we hear I'll be surprised if an explosive was not planted on the plane," he added, in a first public statement on the matter by an Israeli official.

Ya'alon would not comment on a report aired by the U.S.-based CNN network on Sunday, according to which Israeli intelligence services supplied intercepted communications that confirmed a bomb is responsible for the crash.

International investigation teams are currently investigating the circumstances of the crash, with U.S. media outlets reporting on Monday that the FBI will also take part in the probe.

Reports suggested it is highly likely that a terror attack is behind the disaster, but the investigation is still underway and no official statement has been made.

Israel and Egypt maintain close security cooperation, and shortly after the October 31 crash the Israeli military said it assisted Egyptian forces with locating the wreckage.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement earlier that Israeli forces would continue to work with both Egypt and Russia as needed.

A group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) in the Sinai Peninsula claimed they downed the plane shortly after the crash, however Egyptian authorities said it was too early to jump to conclusions.

Russia embarked on a massive-scale attack in September against IS and other rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria amid the country's nearly five-year civil war. Endit