Saudi Arabia names US ambassador

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Saudi Arabia has named a US-educated foreign policy expert as the kingdom's new ambassador to Washington.

Adel al-Jubeir, an aide to King Abdullah, will replace Prince Turki al-Faisal, who resigned last month after just over a year in the job.

Officials said Prince Turki wanted to spend more time with his family.

There have also been suggestions that Prince Turki might be named as Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, or that he quit over differences with Riyadh.

Mr Jubeir's appointment was announced in a royal decree.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is a key ally of the US in the Middle East.

However, the kingdom has faced an Islamist threat inside its borders in recent years, and relations with the US have occasionally been tense.

Relations became strained after it was revealed that most of the hijackers involved in the 11 September 2001 attacks came from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and has been dismayed by events across its northern border since.