King Abdullah walking after spine clot

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is in good health and is walking again after a successful operation in America to remove a blood clot in his back.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is finally walking again after a successful operation in America to remove a blood clot in his back.

The 86-year-old royal's health has now began a course of physiotherapy following treatment in a New York hospital last week where doctors also fixed a slipped disc in his spine.

Reassuring the nation, Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabeeah said: "I would like to assure all the people of Saudi Arabia that the king's health is very reassuring. He has begun a period of rehabilitation as recommended by his doctors."

Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz added that the king was already up and walking around inside the hospital.

The monarch first reported back pain in early November but returned to hospital in Riyadh after his conditioned worsened and doctors discovered the clot.

The king - who has now been in the US for over a week - has given no indication of when he will return home to Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the king's brother, Crown Prince Sultan, 82 - who has also been struggling with ill health - has been ruling the kingdom in his absence after returning to Saudi Arabia from an extended holiday in Morocco.