The Kremlin has said for the first time that a bomb brought down a Russian passenger plane that crashed over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board.
“One can unequivocally say that it was a terrorist act,” Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s FSB security service, told a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, according to a transcript published on the Kremlin’s website.
Bortnikov said investigators had studied the personal belongings, baggage and debris from the aircraft and concluded that an improvised bomb, packed with 1kg of TNT, exploded mid-air. He said traces of explosives were found in the plane’s debris.
Putin said he had ordered Russia’s special services to focus on finding those responsible.
Last week, Britain’s foreign secretary said there was a “high probability” that a bomb planted by a supporter of Islamic State brought down the Russian airliner.
Philip Hammond told CNN: “It may have been an individual who was inspired by Isis who was self-radicalised by looking at Isis propaganda and was acting in the name of Isis without necessarily being directed.”
US officials also suspect that a device planted on Metrojet Flight 9268 exploded shortly after the Airbus A321 took off from the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
An Isis affiliate has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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