Chechen Rebel Leader "Ordered Moscow Attack"

A woman grieves over the coffin of 20-year-old Mareyev Maxim who was killed in a blast in Moscow's metro, during his funeral at a cemetry in the village of Kulakovo near Chekhov, Moscow region, Russia, 31 March 2010. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov has said his group was behind Monday's double suicide bombings on the Moscow Metro, which left 39 people dead.

In a video message posted on a Chechen rebel website, he said he had personally ordered the attacks.

He said they were carried out in retaliation for the killings of "poor Chechen and Ingush residents" by the Russian security forces in February.

Doku Umarov also warned Russia to prepare for more attacks.

In a video message posted on the unofficial Islamist rebel website, kavkazcenter.com, Umarov claimed both attacks "were carried out on my command and will not be the last".

On Monday, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up on the Russian capital's underground system.

The first blast blew up a train carriage at the central Lubyanka station, which is located underneath the offices of the FSB security service - the KGB's successor agency.

The second explosion happened some 45 minutes later at Park Kultury, which is the stop for Gorky Park.

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