Russian passenger plane that >crashed over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt was brought down by a homemade bomb placed on board in a “terrorist” act, the head of Russia’s FSB security service told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
“According to our experts, a homemade explosive device equivalent to 1 kg of TNT went off onboard, which caused the plane to break up in the air, which explains why the fuselage was scattered over such a large territory. I can certainly say that this was a terrorist act,” Alexander Bortnikov said.
All 224 people on board, most of them Russian tourists, were killed in the October 31, 2015 crash.
Mr. Putin vowed to hunt down those responsible for the attack.
“There’s no statute of limitations for this, we need to know all of their names,” Mr. Putin said. “We’re going to look for them everywhere wherever they are hiding. We will find them in any place on Earth and punish them.”
IS has claimed responsibility for bringing the Russian plane down in written statements, as well as video and audio messages posted on the Internet following the crash.
It said the attack was retaliation for Russia’s air campaign against IS and other groups in Syria, where Moscow wants to preserve the rule of President Bashar Assad.
The group warned Mr. Putin that they would also target him “at home” but did not offer any details to back its claim. While releasing specifics would add credibility, the group may be withholding either because its claim is false, or because doing so would undermine plans for similar attacks in the future or because the aura of mystery might deepen its mystique among diehard followers.
IS has also claimed responsibility for Friday attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and wounded 350 others.
Offers $50 million reward for info
FSB has also offered a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for downing the plane .
The FSB appealed to “Russian and international communities for cooperation in identifying the terrorists” and offered “50 million U.S. dollars” reward.
Published - November 17, 2015 02:28 pm IST
