Saudi royals planned military coup: Website

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has ordered former deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz be put under house arrest.

The monarch apparently issued the order after the country’s intelligence services detected suspicious activities by the officers within the ground forces who are close to the former defense minister, mirataljazeera.net reported.

The king ordered the house arrest from Morocco where he was on a visit. The monarch cut short the trip and flew home to deal with the issue.

The investigation was carried out by a committee comprising six different security agencies. It revealed that the officers, in cahoots with the prince and the former governor of the Eastern Province Mohammed bin Fahad bin Abdul Aziz, currently residing in the United States, were planning to stage a coup d’état.

The website also said that the former defense minister is suspected of having a role in the coup.

Prince Khaled was dismissed by royal decree on April 21, 2013. Prince Fahd Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, who was commander of Saudi naval forces since 2002, succeeded him.

There has been a power struggle within Al Saud as younger members of the royal family are vying to snatch power in case the ailing king dies.