In a rare video address released Monday (February 27th), al-Nusra Front (ANF) leader Abu Mohamed al-Joulani said weekend suicide attacks in the Syrian city of Homs were a message for opposition figures engaged in peace talks in Geneva to "step aside", AFP reported Tuesday.

In the video address, the head of ANF, now calling itself Fatah al-Sham Front, reiterated his group's responsibility for the bombings, which killed dozens, including a top intelligence chief, and warned of further attacks.

Opposition and regime representatives are in Geneva this week for UN-sponsored talks aimed at ending Syria's brutal six-year war.

ANF has been excluded from the main opposition High Negotiations Committee, as well as previous talks in Astana between opposition groups and the regime.

Al-Joulani said the attacks in Homs were a message "to leave the war to our people, and to step aside".

ANF split from al-Qaeda in July in a move analysts said was an abortive attempt to end its blacklisting by the UN and Western governments.

In January, it joined forces with other hardline groups to form Tahrir al-Sham .