Damascus, (SANA)- An armed terrorist group affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra confessed to the assassination of Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti at al-Iman Mosque in Damascus after it was ordered by the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra.
"After that Sheikh al-Bouti criticized Jabhat al-Nusra operations in Syria we were ordered to kill him due to a fatwa by the legislative general official of Jabhat al-Nusra , nicknamed Abu Khadijeh al-Ordoni, " the armed terrorist group said in their confessions broadcast by the Syrian TV on Saturday.
The terrorist group said it was planned to assassinate Sheikh al-Bouti at al-Hamidiyyeh Souk after he finishes a Friday sermon at the Umayyad Mosque while his car passes across the Souk .
"The plan was changed after we get information that Sheikh al-Bouti addresses a religious lesson every Thursday at al-Iman Mosque so the assassination took place at the Mosque," the terrorists said.
They said that the plan of attacking Sheikh al-Bouti car by a person wearing an explosive belt was changed for fears that the car could be armored.
The terrorists added that Jabhat al-Nusra did not adopt the assassination as it was strongly condemned and rejected by the Syrian people because the assassination targeted a religious figure and a big number of worshipers.
On March 21, a suicide bombing targeted Sheikh al-Bouti while he was addressing a religious lesson at al-Iman Mosque.