Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, a terrorist group that pledged allegiance to Daesh, is responsible for the downing of the Russian A321 passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, according to the CIA head.

An Egyptian sect of Daesh, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, is responsible for the downing of the Russian A321 passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31 that killed all 224 people on board, US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan said during a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

"There’s a group within the Sinai, ISIL [Daesh], it used to be an Egyptian terrorist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which was basically consumed by ISIL [Daesh] and that group pledged allegiance to ISIL [Daesh]…and we do attribute the downing of that Russian airliner to this group," Brennan said.