Ankara refutes reports on al-Nusra leader finding shelter in Turkey

ANKARA, 21 Feb. - (ANA) - Ankara rejects reports claiming that Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) was currently on Turkish soil, a diplomatic source told Sputnik on Thursday.

"A report published on February 19 by a number of media outlets claimed that the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, was transported to Turkey after being injured in an explosion in Syria. This allegation is unfounded," the source said.

On Tuesday, media reports emerged that the leader of the terrorist group had received a shrapnel wound to the head and was in coma at a Turkish hospital near the Syrian border.

On December 11, al-Watan newspaper reported that the criminal court of Damascus had issued the death penalty in absentia to the leaders of several terrorist groups, including al-Julani.-(ANA)-

AB/ANA/21 February 2019 - - -