Russia admits it WAS terrorists who downed plane with BOMB as airport staff are arrested

RUSSIA has finally confirmed TERRORISTS were responsible for downing the Metrojet Flight 9268 Airbus with a homemade bomb as two airport staff members were arrested on suspicion of planting the explosive device. 

Vladimir Putin has confirmed the Russian plane crash was downed by terrorists

Vladimir Putin has vowed to "find" and "punish" those responsible for the plane crash on the doomed Russian airliner after officials confirmed it was "a terrorist act". 

It comes as Egyptian authorities detained two employees of Sharm al-Sheikh airport in connection with the downing of the passenger jet, killing all 224 people on board. 
Security officials said: "Seventeen people are being held, two of them are suspected of helping whoever planted the bomb on the plane at Sharm al-Sheikh airport."
Russia's shift in tone follows assertions by British and American officials that terrorism was likely the cause of the plane crash, which exploded shortly after it took off from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Russian investigators check debris at the crash site

Russian Federal Security Service chief Alexander Bortnikov said a homemade bomb had been planted on board the Kogalymavia jet, equivalent of up to 1kg of TNT.
Speaking during a meeting chaired by Putin, he said: "One can unequivocally say that it was a terrorist act."
The doomed airliner blew up on October 31, shattering the plane mid-air, which explains "the wide dispersal of fuselage pieces". 
Investigators also found traces of explosive materials in personal items and parts of the plane.
ISIS militants sickeningly claimed 'credit' for the Metrojet A321 crash which killed all 224 people on board.
The mass slaughter of Russian citizens by the extremist group threatens to escalate the war in Syria, where Putin's warplanes have been bombing for over a month.
Putin said that Russia must hunt those responsible "indefinitely, find out who the individuals were". 
He added: "We'll look for them everywhere, wherever they are hiding. We'll find them in any corner of the planet and punish them."

The Russian plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsular

The Russian president has now ordered special forces to focus on finding those responsible and warned airstrikes will be "intensified" in war-torn Syria. 
He said airstrikes "must not only be continued - they must be intensified so that the criminals understand that retribution is inevitable".
A $50m (£33million) reward has reportedly been promised for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for the bombing. 
Around 15,000 Britons were left stranded in Sharm-el Sheik after Prime Minister David Cameron suspended flight to and from the popular Egyptian holiday resort amid security concerns.  

All 224 people on board died in the crash