Slip of tongue reveals Qatar’s relation with Al-Nusra Front

CAIRO – 9 September 2017: Qatari political expert Ali Al-Hail admitted Qatar's relationship with terrorist organizations, and most importantly Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliated group, Al-Nusra Front, in an interview on BBC TV channel on Saturday.

The news-interview programme, which has also seen host of two other political experts, tackled the accusation that Qatari ruling regime supports extreme and terrorist groups in the Middle East.

One of the interviewees stressed that Qatar provided financial support for several militant groups in the region. In response, the pro-regime Al-Hail denied any links between Qatar’s government and terrorists. However, the Qatari political expert mistakenly confessed that Qatar managed to liberate the 13 Syrian nuns who were abducted by militants in 2014 from the ancient Christian town of Maaloula, through its close ties with Al-Nusra Front.

The Anti-Terrorist Quartet (ATQ), consisting of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, have cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar over accusations it was supporting terrorist groups. The four Arab states boycotting Qatar have sent Doha a list of 13 demands including closing the Al Jazeera network and reducing ties to their regional adversary Iran.