BEIRUT: The chief of Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate described rival ISIS's self-proclaimed caliphate as "illegitimate," in a wide-ranging television interview aired Wednesday.
In the second part of his appearance on the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera news channel, Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani criticised ISIS at length and said he did not foresee a reconciliation between the two jihadis groups soon.
"They announced a caliphate, but the scholars rejected it as illegitimate. It is not based on Islamic law," Jolani said, his face hidden from view by a black scarf.
The rivalry between the two groups deepened after ISIS declared a caliphate spanning across Syria and Iraq in June 2014.
This conflict, Jolani said, had seen ISIS kill more than 700 members of Nusra Front in a single battle, as well as women and children.
"There is no indication of a solution between us and them at this time. We hope that they repent and return to the Sunni people," Jolani said, adding that the rivalry had allowed the Syrian regime "to flourish."
He refused to call ISIS fighters "infidels" - a term usually referring to non-Muslims - but instead said they had strayed from the path of Islam.