Vladimir Putin has vowed to 'punish' those responsible for bringing down a Russian jet over the Sinai desert last month, after he confirmed that a bomb was responsible for the crash.

The Russian president claimed that the jet was blown up by a home-made bomb containing 1.5kg of explosives, resulting in the loss of 224 lives.

Shortly after Mr Putin's announcement, Egyptian authorities arrested two airport employees accused of helping ISIS to smuggle the device onto the aircraft.

A $50 million reward has been offered for information leading to the capture of the terror cell responsible for the atrocity.

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Russian state security services have admitted that a bomb brought down a Metrojet aircraft over Egypt

Russian technical experts said that the aircraft was destroyed by a homemade 1.5kg bomb

Russian President Vladimir Putin, pictured this morning at a special briefing in Moscow will fly back to Turkey to hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron at the G20 meeting about the terror attack on the doomed jet

Marking their respects: President Putin observes a minute's silence with Russia's FSB had Alexander Bortnikov, third right, Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, second right, and others before a meeting on the plane crash

An Egyptian spokesman 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.'

The Airbus A321 disappeared 23 minutes after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh airport en-route to St Petersburg.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on the Metrojet aircraft which crashed on October 31.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB security agency told Russian President Vladimir Putin: 'One can say unambiguously that it was a terror act.

'An improvised bomb with a capacity of up to 1.5 kg of TNT exploded on the fight.

'As a result, the aircraft was torn apart in the air, which explains the large distance over which the pieces of the fuselage of the aircraft have scattered.'

President Putin has vowed to avenge the perpetrators: 'It's not the first time Russia faces barbaric terrorist crimes.'

His country would 'never forget' such attacks.

'Killing our people at Sinai is among the most bloody crimes judging by the number of victims.

'And we won't wipe our tears away from our hearts and souls. It will remain with us forever.

'But it won't stop us from finding and punishing the criminals.'

He vowed: 'We must do it without time limitation.

'We must know each name. We will search for them everywhere, wherever they will hide. We will find them in any part of planet and punish them.'

'There is no statute of limitation on this.'

He added: 'The combat work of our aviation in Syria must not only be continued. It must be intensified so that the criminals understand that vengeance is inevitable.'

Prime Minister David Cameron will hold talks later today with Vladimir Putin, right, about the bomb attack

THOSE RESPONSIBLE 'SHOULD BE STRAPPED TO DRONES AND DROPPED ON ISIS FRONTLINE' Ramzan Kadyrov Terrorists behind the downing of the Russian tourist jet should be strapped to drones and dropped from the air on the ISIS frontline, demanded a top Vladimir Putin lieutenant on Tuesday. Chechen strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov - a Muslim - called for 'violent punishment' for all those responsible for blowing the Airbus A321 out of the sky last month. They should be killed by being dropped like human bombs on the heads of fellow jihadists, he claimed. 'People should know when, where and in what circumstances each and every one of them is destroyed,' he said. 'I suggest hanging the detained to the unmanned flying devices attacking ISIS positions, and dropping them on the heads of their peers. 'No court hearings needed.' Advertisement

As a result, Putin has ordered an increase in the intensity of airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria. This comes as France launched a second night of raids against terror locations in Raqqa in response to the Paris massacre. It was later reported that airstrikes had increased in Syria, with Russia using both sea-launched cruise missiles and long range bombers.

British intelligence agents passed their Russian counterparts details of the possible bomb plot.

The passing of intelligence between London and Moscow marked an improvement in relations between the West and Vladimir Putin who was welcomed to the G20 Summit in Turkey.

Speaking at the conference, he told reporters that an international anti-terror coalition was needed to wipe out ISIS: 'I spoke about this at the United Nations... and the tragic events that followed have confirmed that we were right.'

He also ordered the Russian navy to make contact their their French counterparts.

Putin told his admirals: 'It's necessary to establish direct contact with the French and work with them as allies.'

President Hollande has ordered the deployment of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the eastern Mediterranean to offer French jets a third base to attack ISIS.

Already, French bombers are flying out of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Prime Minister David Cameron will hold talks today with President Putin about the Metrojet tragedy.

The move is part of a co-ordinated diplomatic push by Western nations, which yesterday saw Barack Obama hold unscheduled talks with Mr Putin at the summit about the Syrian crisis.

Western leaders believe Russia’s intervention in Syria on the side of tyrant Bashar-al-Assad has proved counterproductive by damaging moderate forces in the country who are vital to any lasting peace deal.

Speaking last night, Mr Cameron said: ‘We have our differences with the Russians, not least because they’ve done so much to degrade the non-IS opposition to Assad, people who could be part of the future of Syria.

‘But the conversation I want to have with Vladimir Putin is to say look, there is one thing we agree about, which is we’d be safer in Russia, we’d be safer in Britain if we destroy IS. That’s what we should be focusing on.’

The attacks on Paris and need to confront ISIS has brought a thawing in relations between President Putin, right, and western governments which imposed sanctions on Russia over the civil war in Ukraine

Russia has sent the guided missile cruiser Moskva, pictured, to the Mediterranean to attack ISIS targets

The Russian MoD released this footage taken from a Su-24M on a bombing missing above Syria

Mr Cameron has previously angered the Russian president by suggesting he has the ‘blood of Syrian children’ on his hands because of his support for Assad.

But Downing Street last night signalled that the Prime Minister would now tone down the rhetoric.

‘This is about getting a hard-headed agreement on issues that matter to us,’ a source said. ‘The Prime Minister will approach this in a way that tries to make some progress with Putin.’

No 10 also confirmed that today’s talks are part of a wider Western push to persuade Mr Putin to soften his support for Assad and join the fight against ISIS.

European Council president Donald Tusk warned there were already signs that Russia’s intervention last month was creating a ‘new wave of refugees’.

Mr Tusk said Russian action ‘must be focused more on Islamic State and not, because we cannot accept it, against the moderate Syrian opposition’.

The White House yesterday said President Obama and Mr Putin had agreed to ask the United Nations to broker peace talks in Syria during a ‘constructive’ 35-minute meeting on the fringes of the G20 Summit.

In a further sign of a potential breakthrough, Mr Putin earlier said: ‘It would seem obvious that IS and other similar extremist groups operating in Syria represent a clear common threat to our countries.’

Later today, Mr Cameron and President Obama will join German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius and Italian PM Matteo Renzi for further talks on stepping up action against IS.

Washington yesterday signalled that it expects the US and France to increase military action against IS in the wake of the Paris outrage.

US Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said: ‘We’re confident that in the coming days and weeks, working with the French, we will be able intensify our strikes against IS in both Syria and Iraq to make clear there is no safe haven for these terrorists.’

Mr Cameron last night reiterated his continuing support for British air strikes against IS in Syria, saying: ‘It’s become even more clear that our safety and security depends on degrading and ultimately destroying IS whether it’s in Iraq or Syria.

‘We’re playing a huge role in that already in Iraq. Others are taking action in Syria which we both support and enable, but we’ve got to keep on making the case that we will be safer in the UK, in France, right across Europe if we destroy this death cult once and for all.’

But Downing Street said Mr Cameron remained committed to holding a Commons vote before extending British military action to Syria. A source urged MPs opposed to the idea to ‘reflect’ on their position.

Consumer watchdogs today warned that the government should provide guidance and help to holiday makers who have booked to Sharm el-Sheikh, whose tourism industry has been devastated by the attack

Frank Brehany, Consumer Director of HolidayTravelWatch called on the government to help tourists who have booked holidays in Egypt following the bomb announcement.

He said: 'This news, coming so swiftly after the carnage in Paris underlines the perilous state of affairs in Egypt.

'Whilst my heart reaches out to the good and decent people of Egypt, my focus today must rest with the holidaymakers who have already booked to visit Egypt.

'Travel companies and the UK government must now stop this rush to normalise the travel trade between our two countries and seek to resolve the issues that prevail within that region. Holiday companies must not use the term "normal booking conditions apply", when it is clear that this situation is anything but normal.