DOHA
Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was buried in capital Riyadh on Friday afternoon following a brief funeral attended by several heads of state.
Scores of mourners performed funeral prayers for the deceased monarch at a mosque in southern Riyadh before the body was taken for burial in a cemetery in the same city.
The rulers of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Sudan took part in the funeral prayers.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Oman's Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, second-in-command to Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said, both attended the event.
Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, as well as top Emirati officials, likewise attended the funeral prayers.
The Saudi Royal Court announced the death of King Abdullah – said to be about 91 years old – in the early hours of Friday.
It also declared Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz as the new king of the oil-rich Gulf monarchy and Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz as new crown prince.
Abdullah was recently admitted to hospital and placed on a ventilator after being diagnosed with pneumonitis.
Abdullah underwent back surgery in November of 2012. Ever since, he has refrained from attending events outside the kingdom, including a recent high-profile Gulf summit in Doha.
Salman, 79, is a half-brother of the deceased king. He was appointed crown prince in the summer of 2012 after the death of the late Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
Muqrin is also a half-brother of Abdullah and the youngest son of the founder of Saudi Arabia. He had previously served as second deputy prime minister and the king's special envoy.
On Friday, Muqrin was also promoted to the post of deputy prime minister by the new king.
