TV: Saudi replaces veteran intelligence chief Bandar Bin Sultan

Saudi Arabia has replaced its veteran intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan "at his own request", an official television station in the kingdom announced Tuesday.

In a royal decree, the powerful official was replaced "at his own request" by his deputy, Yousef al-Idrissi, said Al-Ekhbariya, a government-run satellite channel.

Bandar was abroad for several months for health reasons, with diplomats saying he had been sidelined in Saudi efforts to support rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.