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		</div><p>Claims by the so-called &#8216;Islamic State&#8217; group that it caused a Russian passenger plane to crash, killing all 224 people on board, are “propaganda” aimed at damaging Egypt’s image, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said.</p>
<p>He added that the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula is under “full control”.</p>
<p>In an interview with the BBC released on Tuesday, Mr el-Sissi also reiterated his assertion that the cause of the crash may not be known for months and that, until then, it should not be speculated on.</p>
<p>&#8216;Islamic State&#8217; militants said on the day of the crash that they had “brought down” the Russian plane to avenge those killed as a result of Moscow’s recent air campaign in Syria, launched in support of IS adversary President Bashar Assad.</p>
<p>But the group did not provide any evidence to back up its claim, and militants in northern Sinai have not to date shot down commercial airliners or fighter jets.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the United States Embassy in Cairo has instructed its staff not to travel anywhere in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as a “precautionary measure”, pending the outcome of the investigation into the crash.</p>
<p>In a statement issued late on Monday, the embassy said it will issue another message when the security measure is lifted.</p>
<p>The Russian Airbus plane, operated by airline Metrojet was flying from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg when it crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday.</p>
<p>The cause of the crash is not yet known. Mystery and confusion surrounds the flight’s final moments and speculation includes a technical problem, structural failure, fire, bomb or an attack by Islamic militants on the ground.</p>
<p>In Russia, a deputy governor of St Petersburg, where most of the passengers were from, said the first nine bodies flown back to the city have been identified.</p>
<p>Russian news agencies on Tuesday quoted Igor Albin as saying that the families had identified the bodies.</p>
<p>Mr Albin said identification of all of the victims could take several weeks.</p>
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