Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has died, Saudi state television announced early on Friday local time.
Abdullah’s designated successor is Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, his 79-year-old half-brother.
Abdullah had been in poor health in recent months. Reuters reports that the king had been admitted to a Riyadh hospital in December for medical tests. The royal court announced in January that Abdullah was suffering from pneumonia.
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz is believed to have been born in 1923 and came into power in 2005 after the death of his half-brother, King Fahd.
