The high-profile Dubai murder of a former Chechen commander took on odd twist Wednesday when a Muslim leader said someone claiming to be the dead man had called him to declare a blood feud against Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Nurid-Khadzhi Kimayev, a respected Muslim cleric in Chechnya, said he didn't believe the caller's claim to be Sulim Yamadayev and therefore did not convey the announcement of the blood feud to Kadyrov, Kommersant reported.

Under Chechen tradition, an offended party that wants to declare a blood feud must announce his intentions to a Muslim cleric, who then passes on the declaration to the offending party.

Kimayev said the caller had accused Kadyrov and State Duma Deputy Adam Delimkhanov of trying to kill him.

Dubai police have issued an international arrest warrant for Delimkhanov, a close ally of Kadyrov who represents Chechnya in the Duma, on charges of masterminding Yamadayev's murder. The police have detained two suspects, including Kadyrov's horse trainer, on suspicion of involvement in the killing.

Yamadayev and Kadyrov deny wrongdoing.

One of Yamadayev's brothers, Isa, has maintained that Sulim survived the attack. He told Kommersant in Wednesday's issue that it was Sulim who had called the cleric to announce the blood feud. He also said that he would seek the punishment of those who had masterminded and carried out the attack "according to the law."

Yamadayev, an ally-turned-enemy of Kadyrov, was shot dead near his luxury Dubai home on March 28 in what local police have described as the first political killing on Dubai soil.