The Egyptian department of the Islamic State (IS) claimed that it downed the Russian jet in Sinai Peninsula, AFP reports.   

BBC News reconfirmed that the statement on behalf of the group appeared in Telegram messaging app. The British journalists reminded that A321 crashed in Sinai where the Egyptian government is fighting against gunmen connected with the local IS wing.  

However, the sources of Egypt’s security services earlier reported that there were no indications that the plane could have been downed.

The crash was reportedly caused by technical reasons, RBC reported.