Update to this story.

(AWD News) – “The soldiers of the caliphate succeeded in bringing down a Russian plane in Sinai,” said the statement from the group.

Russia’s transport minister has said the claim can’t be “considered accurate”, while a spokesperson for Egypt’s military said there is “no proof at this point”.

Emergency services have reached the wreckage. They say that there are no survivors of the 224 people on board. This includes 17 children.

The plane with 214 Russian and three Ukranian passengers, and seven crew, had taken off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the south Sinai bound for Saint Petersburg. It lost contact with air traffic control 23 minutes later. […]

The Russian government has sent an investigations team to the site, and declared a day of mourning. The Israeli Defence Force is also assisting with the search.

The IS affiliate, which is waging a deadly insurgency in the Sinai, claimed that “the soldiers of the caliphate succeeded in bringing down a Russian plane” there.

It said this was in revenge for Russian air strikes against militants in Syria, where IS controls territories that straddle Iraq.