Getty Presidents Putin and Hollande have said they will join forces to fight ISIS

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The announcement came as Russia fired missiles at ISIS in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, just hours after the former soviet country finally confirmed terrorists were responsible for the downing of a Russian airliner. Metrojet Flight 9268 was downed by 'foreign explosives' in Egypt on October 31 - leaving all 224 people onboard dead.



As France attempts to come to terms with six horrific attacks on Paris last Friday which left 129 dead, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to work with the French military in Syria during a phone called with his French counterpart, Francois Hollande. Mr Hollande had earlier called for Russia and the US - as well as fellow EU countries - to join a coalition to destroy ISIS after the terror group admitted responsibility for the attack on the French capital.



Tonight France launched further airstrikes on the ISIS-stronghold of Raqqa in Syria, with ten planes taking part, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French defence minister confirmed.

Russia’s defence minister said this afternoon Russian warplanes have fired cruise missiles on militant positions in Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Sergei Shoigu also told a briefing conducted for President Putin on Tuesday bombers hit Islamic State positions in Raqqa and Der-ez-Zor. Mr Shoigu said the cruise missiles which hit the Aleppo and Idlib positions were fired from Tu-160 and Tu-95 warplanes. Earlier US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said ISIS is losing territory because of the American-led military operations in Iraq and Syria.

Using the Arabic name for ISIS, Mr Kerry said: “We agreed to exchange more information and I’m convinced that over the course of the next weeks, Daesh will feel greater pressure. “They are feeling it today. They felt it yesterday. They felt it in the past weeks. We gained more territory. Dash has less territory. “There is a clear strategy in place. Step-by-step I’m confident momentum will pick up.” France’s call for military support from other EU countries has invoked an article of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty which has never been used before and which requires states to provide “aid and assistance by all the means in their power” to a member which is “the victim of armed aggression on its territory”. Early this morning Vladimir Putin vowed to "find" and "punish" those responsible for the plane crash on the doomed Russian airliner last month after officials confirmed it was "a terrorist act". He has now offered a £33million reward for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for the bombing. In retaliation of the announcement he has ramped up attacks on ISIS, with sea-launched cruise missiles and long-range bombers fired, according to a US official. 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.

EPA Russian investigators check debris at the crash site

One can unequivocally say that it was a terrorist act Russian Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov

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 said: "It's not the first time Russia faces barbaric terrorist crimes. "We'll look for them everywhere, wherever they are hiding. We'll find them in any corner of the planet and punish them.

Russian airliner bombed over Egypt Tue, November 17, 2015 Russian airliner flight 9268 crashed en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on 31st October 2015, killing all 224 people on board the vast majority of them Russian tourists. Play slideshow AP 1 of 25 The bomb that was used to blow up the Russian Airliner bound for St. Petersburg, Russia, that crashed in Hassana, north Sinai, Egypt, killing all 224 people on board

PH The Russian plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsular

Putin said his country would "never forget" such attacks. He added: "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." "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."

PA All 224 people on board died in the crash

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". 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.