Russia confirms on-board bomb brought down Metrojet airliner in Egypt

Russia has confirmed that last month’s Metrojet airliner crash was caused by a terrorist act. The Federal Security Service (FSB) - Russia’s chief spy agency - says a bomb went off on the plane, causing it to crash in the Sinai Peninsula on 31 October. The head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said: “One can unequivocally say that it was a terrorist act." The FSB added that traces of explosives were found in debris at the crash site. Britain, and others, had said within days of the incident that it was likely a bomb was responsible.

In the estimates of our specialists, a self-made explosive device with its power of up to 1 kilogram in TNT equivalent went off aboard the airliner, due to which the plane broke up in the air and this explains the spread of the plane’s fuselage parts over a large distance.

FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has ordered special services to focus on finding those responsible for bringing down the plane. The Metrojet airliner crashed shortly after taking off from Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh International Airport. All 224 people aboard the Airbus A321 died. The Islamic State said it brought down the airliner. A $50m (£33m) reward has been promised for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for the bombing, according to the Interfax news agency.

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