Chechen rebel leader claims responsibility for last month's Moscow airport bombing

Moscow, Feb 8 (ANI): Chechen rebel chief Doku Umarov has reportedly claimed responsibility for last month's bombing at Moscow's main airport that killed 36 people.

The Telegraph quoted The Kavkaz Center website, affiliated with Chechen rebels, as saying that it had received a video on Monday in which Umarov said that he had ordered the January 24 attack at Domodedovo Airport in Russia.

"Muslims of the Caucasus were at war with the Russian occupation army in the name of Allah to defend Islam and the people's right to dignity, to liberate the land of Caucasus Muslims, and to establish law and justice," the website quoted Umarov, as saying.

Earlier, Russian investigators had identified the bomber as a 20-year-old man from the Caucasus region, but refused to give any other information.

The website reportedly released further videos over the weekend in which the self-proclaimed leader of the so-called "Caucasus Emirate", which has sought to unite various groups in Russia's Caucasus and establish Islamic rule, had threatened to carry out more attacks if Russia does not give up the Caucasus region, the paper said.

The rebels have claimed responsibility for an array of terrorist attacks, including last year's double suicide bombing of the Moscow subway system that killed 40 people. (ANI)