Chechen rebel leader who claimed Moscow subway bombings purportedly resigns in video

Video announces resignation of Chechen rebel

MOSCOW — The leader of Chechnya’s separatist militants, who claimed responsbility for the Moscow subway bombings that killed 40 people in March, has purportedly announced in a video posted on YouTube that he is stepping down.

Doku Umarov, regarded in the United States and Russia as a terrorist, says in the grainy footage that he is ceding leadership to a younger and more energetic deputy. The authenticity of the video could not be verified, and a website sympathetic to the rebels of the Russian province was down on Monday.

The 46-year-old Umarov took over as so-called Emir of the Caucasus Emirate — the separatists’ top post in Russia’s predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region — in 2006. The rebels seek an independent Shariah state.

Umarov has claimed responsibility for several recent terrorist attacks in Russia.