Militant cleric survives assassination attempt

BEIRUT: A Saudi cleric placed by Riyadh and its allies on a blacklist of terrorists linked to Qatar said he survived assassination by a suicide bomber in Syria on Friday.
Abdullah Al-Muhaysini appeared in an online video saying he was unhurt in the blast. “We got in the car and a man approached us wearing a suicide vest. He came close to the car and blew himself up,” he said.
Al-Muhaysini did not say who he believed was behind the attack, which a war-monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said took place after he left a mosque in Idlib.
He is described as a terrorist by the Syrian regime and its allies, as well as by the US, which has launched airstrikes against members of Tahrir Al-Sham, the group he is associated with.
There has been fighting among Syrian opposition fighters since early this year and opposition sources have said they fear the Gulf crisis involving Qatar could spark new bouts of that conflict.
Photos on social media, which Reuters could not authenticate, showed an armored car with scorched and slightly crumpled bodywork but with its shape mostly intact and windows unbroken.
Since arriving in Syria in 2013, Al-Muhaysini has become one of the best-known jihadists, partly thanks to his tireless social media presence.
He is a member of the Shariah Council for Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, an alliance of radical opposition factions that includes the Nusra Front, a former Al-Qaeda group which Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Qatar of funding. Doha denies it.
Al-Muhaysini’s father was a well-known cleric from the town of Buraidah. His son boasts on his website of studying under Sulaiman Al-Alwan, nicknamed “the Al-Qaeda sheikh,” who has been in prison in Saudi Arabia since 2004.
When he arrived in Syria, Al-Muhaysini presented himself as a neutral arbiter between rival radical groups in Syria, and has often chastised them for their internal divisions.
In his online videos, the young, bushy-bearded cleric appears earnest and amiable while discussing politics and religion with comrades, but thunderous when denouncing enemies.
“When the battle starts, we will not accept that you come back except as martyrs or victors,” he said in a speech to opposition fighters about to assault Aleppo last summer.
Other videos show him hugging suicide bombers before they leave for the front line, training children to use weapons and showering praise on Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, the head of the former Nusra Front group.
On social media feeds, he sometimes uses an emoji of a raised forefinger, the universal jihadist salute.