Russian Officials Confirm Passenger Plane Downed By 'Terrorist Act'

Russian officials confirmed this week that the recent downing of a passenger airliner over the Sinai Peninsula earlier in October was unequivocally a "terrorist act."

Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, said in a statement to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the plane's downing, which took place on October 31 and killed 224, was the result of a bomb on board.

"We can say unequivocally that this was a terrorist attack," Bortnikov said in a statement.

Russia's confirmation of the terror attack comes after other countries, including the U.S. and Great Britain, also confirmed that the plane had been taken down by a bomb likely placed in its hold.

Putin said in a follow-up statement that justice must be sought for those who carried out the attack.

"We will not wipe tears from our heart and soul. This will remain with us forever," Putin said in a statement. "We will look for them everywhere, wherever they may hide themselves, we will find them, at any point on the planet, and we will take retribution."

"This is not the first time Russia experiences barbaric terrorist crime, usually without any obvious internal or external causes, the way it was with the explosion at the railway station in Volgograd at the end of 2013." Putin added.

Russia's confirmation comes after the French military carried out a string of airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in Raqqa following the death of 129 people in Paris during a terror attack last Friday.