Russian airbus crash in Egypt
© Sputnik/ Maxim Grigoryev
Militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, whose communications with Islamic State (ISIL) group's leadership indicated they could have been behind the crash of a Russian airliner in the area, spoke in British accents, the UK media reported.

The Telegraph newspaper said late Saturday it had picked up on reports suggesting that British-born jihadists could have been involved in the air tragedy in Sinai, a desert region where militant insurgency has been on the rise since last year.

The British outlet said it was too early to claim that perpetrators were British, but if confirmed this would move the issue of ISIL recruiting Britons high up the UK government's anti-terrorist agenda.

UK and US officials said earlier this week there was a possibility that the crashed Russian airliner could have been brought down by a bomb. The Airbus A321 was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg when it crashed, killing all 224 people on board.

UK media reports cited British investigators, who help with the Egypt-led inquiry into the cause of the plan crash, saying their suspicion was based on intercepted communications between ISIL-affiliated militants operating in the Sinai peninsula and their leaders.