Saudi King to Undergo New Back Operation

Saudi King Abdullah is to undergo another operation on a back problem in a Riyadh hospital this week, the palace announced on Sunday.

Medical tests "showed the presence of a slackening ligament in the upper back," it said in a statement carried by the official news agency SPA.

It said doctors decided to operate on the king, 88, next week in the National Guard medical complex where he underwent a similar procedure in October 2011.

In November 2010, Abdullah was operated on in New York for a debilitating herniated disc complicated by a blood clot that put pressure on his spine, and he underwent further surgery the following month.

The monarch's advanced age combined with health problems have raised concerns about the future of Saudi Arabia, which has been ruled by the Al-Saud family since 1932.