Russian plane crash: Bomb on board brought down Sharm el Sheikh plane, killing 224 people, says Kremlin

Russian officials have said for the first time that a bomb was the cause of the plane crash over Egypt.

The Kremlin said a “terrorist act” was the cause of the crash in which all 224 people on board the Metrojet flight crashed.

Traces of explosives were found among debris of the Airbus A321 at the crash site on the Sinai peninsula.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to hunt down those responsible for the attack and offered a £33 million for information leading to their arrest.

He said: "There's no statute of limitations for this, we need to know all of their names.

"We're going to look for them everywhere wherever they are hiding. We will find them in any place on Earth and punish them."

Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's FSB security service, said: “One can unequivocally say that it was a terrorist act.”

Reuters cited security officials saying two employees of Sharm el-Sheikh airport had been held in connection with the incident.

The plane was downed on October 31 shortly after setting out from Sharm el Sheikh international airport on its way to St Petersburg in Russia.

Thousands of Britons were left stranded in Egypt as flights were cancelled or suspended in the days after the crash.

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 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 die-hard followers.

IS has also claimed responsibility for Friday attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and wounded 350 others.