Chechen rebel leader claims responsibility for subway bombings

A Chechen militant leader claimed responsibility today for twin suicide bombings on Moscow’s subway which killed 39 people and injured scores of others.

Doku Umarov, who leads Islamic militants in Chechnya and nearby regions of Russia’s North Caucasus, said in a statement posted on a pro-rebel website that Monday’s attacks were an act of revenge for the killing of civilians by Russian security forces.

He added that attacks on Russian cities would continue.

Russian authorities have said the bombings, the first terror attacks in Moscow in six years, were carried out by militants from the North Caucasus region.