BEIRUT: Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani condemned Friday the recent explosion at a Damascus mosque that claimed the life of a top Sunni imam.

“The mufti condemned the explosion in Iman Mosque in Damascus which led to the killing of Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti and other innocent people,” said a statement from Dar al-Fatwa.

Qabbani described Buti’s assassination as a “criminal act” and “prayed God would have mercy on him,” the statement added.

Buti, an 84-year-old imam and religious scholar, was giving a religious lesson in the Iman Mosque in the central Mazraa district of Damascus when the explosion took place, according to Syria’s state TV.

At least 41 people were killed in the blast, including Buti’s grandson, and over 84 people were wounded.

The explosion was one of the most daring assassinations of the two-year conflict and the first time a suicide bomber struck inside a mosque.