A
Saudi prince died in a helicopter crash near the Yemeni border Sunday
afternoon, one day after the kingdom’s young crown prince ordered a
shocking purge of princes and some of the country’s most influential
leaders.
Prince Mansour Bin Muqrin was killed in the crash “while performing
an inspection in remote parts of the governorate,” a spokeswoman for the
Saudi embassy in Washington told NBC News.
The prince, who’s the son of a former crown prince, Muqrin bin Abdul
Aziz who was pushed aside by his half-brother King Salman a few months
after he took the throne in 2015, was traveling with a team of other
government officials, whose fate remains unknown.
The
Saudi-owned, Dubai-based satellite news channel Al-Arabiya reported
seven other people also died in the crash.
Prince Mansour was the son of
Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence director and a
one-time crown prince of the kingdom.
Before the crash, Saudi officials said they had intercepted a missile
near Riyadh’s airport on Saturday that was fired from war-torn Yemen.
Prince Mansour Bin Muqrin was killed in the crash “while performing
an inspection in remote parts of the governorate,” a spokeswoman for the
Saudi embassy in Washington told NBC News.
The prince, who’s the son of a former crown prince, Muqrin bin Abdul
Aziz who was pushed aside by his half-brother King Salman a few months
after he took the throne in 2015, was traveling with a team of other
government officials, whose fate remains unknown.
The
Saudi-owned, Dubai-based satellite news channel Al-Arabiya reported
seven other people also died in the crash. Prince Mansour was the son of
Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence director and a
one-time crown prince of the kingdom.
Before the crash, Saudi officials said they had intercepted a missile
near Riyadh’s airport on Saturday that was fired from war-torn Yemen.