DHAKA: Saudi state television has for the first time broadcast the ‘confessions’ of a jihadist who returned from Syria, as the Muslim kingdom distances itself from Islamist radicals in that country’s conflict.

Sulaiman al-Subaie, 25, who grew popular in his homeland for his posts on video-sharing app Keek, reportedly joined the most radical group fighting in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), last August.

‘The situation in Syria is not as portrayed in the media,’ Subaie said in a rare interview aired on Saudi television late Wednesday, The Straits Times publishes this report on Thursday.

‘What is amazing is that Saudis are killing fellow Saudis in the fighting between ISIL and Al-Nusra Front,’ the Al-Qaeda franchise in Syria.

BDST: 2030 HRS, MAR 06, 2014