The US Embassy in Cairo warned its citizens Tuesday against traveling to the Sinai Peninsula following the crash of a Russian passenger jet that killed 224 passengers and crew members.
“As a precautionary measure, the United States Embassy has instructed its employees not to travel anywhere in the Sinai Peninsula pending the outcome of the investigation into the tragic crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt on October 31,” said a Monday statement by the embassy.
US Senator Tom Kaine from the Armed Services Committee told CNN it was too early to determine whether the Islamic State was right in its claim that it downed the Russian plane.
"It is too early to tell and we hope that is not the case," said Kaine.
Kaine said IS's claim still represents a possibility, pointing to the ongoing battles between "Sunni extremists and the Egyptian government" in Sinai. He said the possibility of an Islamic State link to the Russian plane crash could be a similar retaliation to how the group sought out vengeful attacks against Hezbollah in Syria.
A video by alleged Islamic State fighters on Tuesday shows fighters again claiming credit for the crash, and threatening Russian president Vladimir Putin. Fighters in the video said Putin would pay "a high price" for his intervention in Syria against the militant group.
While the cause of the crash remains unknown, investigations are ongoing.
