When Egypt investigates tragedy, don’t expect results

HOURS after a Russian airliner—Metrojet flight 9268—crashed in the Sinai Peninsula last October, killing 224 people, the Egyptian affiliate of Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility. Less than a week later, Britain said it suspected that a bomb was the cause. American officials concurred, fingering IS. Two weeks after that, Russia concluded that a “terror act” brought down the plane. Case closed, it seemed.

But Egypt dismissed each suggestion as premature. In December its investigators issued a preliminary report stating that there was no evidence of terrorist activity or a security failure. They still have not produced a final report (publicly, at least). Only in February did Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, obliquely admit that the crash was an act of terrorism.

Now Egypt is investigating another crash, that of EgyptAir flight 804, which went down in the Mediterranean Sea on May 19th, killing 66 people. Ayman al-Moqadem, the head of Egypt’s investigation team, who also led the Metrojet inquiry, says a preliminary report will be ready in a month. Few think it will shed much light on the crash, especially if the cause...Continue reading

Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1sWXSfv

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