The Russian passenger jet that crashed over the Sinai was brought down by a bomb estimated to contain 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service, Aleksandr Bortnikov, said Tuesday, according to Russian state media.
The Russian government had initially resisted the theory that the plane fell victim to terrorism, perhaps in retaliation for Russia’s support of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Metrojet flight 9268 crashed October 31 after departing from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.
Bortnikov said the bomb was a homemade device with the explosive power of one kilogram of TNT, the state-run TASS news agency said.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry should appeal to all our partners,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference in the Kremlin on Tuesday. “We are counting on all our friends in this work, including the search for and punishment of the culprits.”