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Trial commences for four accused of assassinating late Saudi king

Xinhua, November 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

A Saudi court commenced here on Monday a trial of four al-Qaida members for plotting the assassination of late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saudi, Al Arabiya local news reported.

The four are part of a terrorist cell of 47 members busted by the security officials and charged with 41 terrorism crimes.

They were planning a suicide attack during the late king's visit to Qassim city in the center of the kingdom to create chaos.

The late king died in January 2015 of natural causes.

The high criminal court recently challenged the suspects' penalties and ordered a retrial. They were sentenced in 2013 to jail terms between four to 12 years.

Saudi Arabia has been witnessing in recent years bloody terrorist attacks in many cities by extremists and followers of terrorist groups, mainly the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Endit