Saudi royals, officials visit king in hospital after surgery

Senior Saudi royals and government officials have visited King Abdullah in hospital, state news agency SPA reported, a week after the monarch - believed to be in his late 80s - had surgery to tighten a ligament in his back.
   
The stability of the world's biggest oil exporter and an important regional U.S. ally is of global concern as the kingdom holds more than a fifth of the world's crude reserves and is a venue for millions of Muslim pilgrims every year.
   
SPA's report on Saturday carried a photograph of officials and royals gathered inside the National Guard's King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, but did not say who was allowed to see the king or when he is expected to leave hospital.
   
The king was admitted for surgery on Nov. 16 and an announcement from the Royal Court said that he had undergone a successful back operation that lasted for 11 hours. No photographs of Abdullah have been released.
   
Saudi analysts said on Saturday it was understandable that he would take time to recover, given his age.
   
Abdullah underwent a similar operation in October last year and had back surgery twice in the United States in 2010 for a herniated disc, after which spent three months outside Saudi Arabia recuperating.
 

REUTERS