White House won’t rule out terrorism in Russian jet downing

The White House said Thursday it cannot rule out the possibility of “terrorist involvement” in the downing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt. 

Press secretary Josh Earnest said, however, the U.S. has not made an official determination about the cause of the crash and refused to share intelligence on the incident. 

{mosads}“We cannot rule anything out, including the possibility of terrorist involvement,” Earnest told reporters. 

U.S. intelligence reportedly shows the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) most likely planted an explosive device on the Russian plane, which broke apart over the Sinai Peninsula last weekend, killing all 224 people on board. 

ISIS has taken responsibility for the incident, though the group has not provided any evidence to back up their claim.

Earnest said the Department of Homeland Security is developing additional security measures for certain international airports following the incident. He said U.S. officials have been in touch with Russian and Egyptian officials investigating the crash and have offered assistance.

Metrojet Flight 9268 departed from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Obama administration officials have said that no carriers that fly to and from the U.S. run flights out of that airport.