$50 mn reward for information on terror attack: Russian Federal Security Service director

Weeks after the Russian passenger plane crash in Sinai on October 31, Russia announced for the first time on Tuesday that a bomb was the cause of the crash that killed all 224 people on board, and offered a US$50 million reward for information on the attack.

 

“We can say that [the Sinai plane crash] was a terror act,” Federal Security Service (FSS) director Aleksandr Bortnikov told Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

 

Bortnikov also announced that the FSS would dispense a reward of $50 million for information on those behind the terror attack, according to Russia Today.

Reuters also reported on Tuesday that Egypt arrested two employees from Sharm el-Sheikh airport who are being held in connection with the plane crash.

Following Russia's declaration of the incident as a terrorist attack, Putin requested the Foreign Ministry to “call on all our [foreign] partners” to assist in the search for the terrorists behind the attack. 

“We look forward in the course of this work to [help from] all our friends, including in finding and punishing the criminals," said Putin.

Bortnikov said Russia's analysis of the crash's aftermath determined that the plane was brought down by a homemade bomb made from 1 kilogram of TNT that was detonated during the flight, causing the plane to break up in mid air. 

Russia had, until Tuesday, refused to comment on whether the plane crash was the result of an act of terrorism, despite statements by the United States and the United Kingdom that claimed the plane was downed by a bomb. 

Russia banned all direct flights between Russia and Egypt as of November 14.