AKIPRESS.COM - Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has officially acknowledged for the first time that the crash of a Russian airliner in the Sinai peninsula last October was a result of "terrorism".

He said the attack had been intended to damage Egypt's tourism industry and relations with Russia, reports BBC.

Russia has already said a bomb caused the crash in which 224 people died.

Mr Sisi had previously dismissed as "propaganda" a claim by jihadists that they brought the plane down.

The Airbus 321 operated by Russian airline Metrojet broke up in mid-air over the Sinai peninsula on 31 October.

Nearly all those killed were Russian tourists flying to St Petersburg from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"Has terrorism ended? No," Mr Sisi said in a televised speech.

"Whoever downed that plane, what did he want? Just to hit tourism? No. To hit relations. To hit relations with Russia."