Story highlights Somali official: "This was a sophisticated attack ... so we reached out to our international partners"

The explosion rocked Daallo Airlines Flight 3159 soon after it took off from Mogadishu

Sources say a laptop computer may have concealed a bomb that blew a hole in the side of the jet

(CNN) Several members of the FBI are on the ground in Somalia to help authorities there investigate an inflight explosion aboard a commercial airplane, which the African nation's transport minister called "a deliberate act of terror."

FBI agents went to the East African country after its government asked for the United States to help probe what happened aboard Daallo Airlines Flight 3159 soon after it set off from Mogadishu's airport on Tuesday, Somalian Prime Minister spokesman Abdisalam Aato told CNN.

"This was a sophisticated attack ... so we reached out to our international partners," Aato said.

U.S. sources familiar with the investigation confirmed that the FBI is assisting Somali authorities.

Transport Minister Jama Jangali told reporters Saturday it was terrorism, not "technical difficulties," that led to an explosion that ripped a hole about the size of a small door in the plane.

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