Putin vows payback after Kremlin confirms bomb downed Russian plane over Egypt

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin said Russia would intensify its air strikes on Islamist militants in Syria and launch a global manhunt after the Kremlin concluded that terrorists had placed a bomb on a Russian passenger jet which broke up over Egypt last month.

"We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them," President Putin said of the plane bombers, in a sombre Kremlin meeting which was broadcast on Tuesday.

Until now, Russia had played down assertions from Western countries that the crash, in which 224 people were killed on Oct. 31, was the work of terrorists, saying it was important to let the official investigation run its course.

But four days after Islamist gunmen and bombers killed at least 129 people in Paris, the Kremlin released footage showing Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's FSB security service, telling a late night meeting on Monday that traces of foreign-made explosive had been found on fragments of the downed plane and on passengers' personal belongings.

"According to an analysis by our specialists, a homemade bomb containing up to 1 kilogram of TNT detonated during the flight, causing the plane to break up in mid air, which explains why parts of the fuselage were spread over such a large distance," said Bortnikov.

"We can unequivocally say it was a terrorist act," he said.

The Airbus A321, operated by Metrojet, had been returning Russian holiday makers from Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt to St Petersburg when it broke up over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all on board. A group affiliated with Islamic State claimed responsibility, but until Tuesday Russia had said terrorism was just one possible scenario.

RETRIBUTION

Putin, wearing a dark suit, presided over a minute of silence in memory of the victims at the Kremlin meeting, before telling security and military chiefs the incident was one of the bloodiest crimes in modern Russian history and ordering the air force to intensify its air strikes in Syria in response.

"Our air force's military work in Syria must not simply be continued," he said. "It must be intensified in such a way that the criminals understand that retribution is inevitable."

Putin said he expected military chiefs to present him with specific proposals on how Russia could ramp up its campaign. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters Putin was expected to visit the defence ministry later on Tuesday.

A senior French government source said Russia had already launched air strikes against the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria on Tuesday, a sign, the source said, that Russia was becoming more concerned about the threat posed by IS.

Russia began air strikes in Syria at the end of September. It has always said its main target is Islamic State, but most of its bombs in the past hit territory held by other groups opposed to its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

Putin, in language reminiscent of how he talked about Chechen militants during a war when he came to power 15 years ago, ordered the secret services to hunt down those responsible.

"We must do this without any statute of limitations and we must find out all their names," he said, invoking Russia's right to self defence under the United Nations charter.

"Anyone who tries to help the criminals should know that the consequences for trying to shelter them will lie completely on their shoulders."

The FSB security service later told Russian news agencies there was a $50 million reward for help detaining the bombers.

(Additional reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Vladimir Soldatkin and Daria Korsunksya in Moscow; Editing by Christian Lowe and Peter Graff)