U.S. Officials Say Missile Didn't Down Russian Plane

U.S. officials are refuting claims that a missile may have struck a Russian commercial airliner that went down over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, NBC News reported.

American satellite imagery detected a heat flash at the same time in the same area where the plane crashed, a senior defense official told NBC News late Monday. The satellite surveillance was confirmed by a second senior defense official, NBC News said.

"The speculation that this plane was brought down by a missile is off the table," the official said.

Analysts believe it could have been an explosion from within the plane itself, the official said.

The Metrojet-operated plane crashed Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.

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