Saudi King buried in simple Riyadh grave

Saudi Arabia's King Fahd was buried in a simple unmarked grave yesterday after a brief funeral to mourn the monarch who ruled the oil superpower for more than two turbulent decades.

In keeping with the kingdom's austere Islamic tradition King Fahd, who in life enjoyed enormous wealth and privilege, was laid to rest in a sprawling Riyadh cemetery alongside hundreds of other unidentified dirt graves.

King Fahd died on Monday after 23 years ruling the strategic Gulf state which is both the world's biggest oil exporter and the cradle of Islam - drawing more than a billion faithful to turn five times a day toward Mecca in prayer.

In the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque in the capital, Muslim leaders from across the world joined ordinary Saudis to offer condolences to King Fahd's successor and half-brother Abdullah, and performed Muslim prayers for the dead.

The brief afternoon ceremony was devoid of pomp. King Fahd's body, wrapped in a brown shroud and laid on a bier, was carried out of the mosque and driven to his final resting place in an ambulance.

Hundreds of security forces mixed with mourners in the mosque and snipers were posted around the cemetery. A wave of attacks by supporters of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had clouded King Fahd's final, ailing years after his stroke in 1995. An official said security forces were taking the same precautions "that any other government would take to secure a huge event like this with very high-profile guests".

King Fahd's reign was marked by several regional wars, wild fluctuations in oil prices and a crisis in relations with Saudi Arabia's key ally, the US, after the September 11, 2001, attacks carried out by mainly Saudi suicide hijackers. King Abdullah has run day-to-day affairs since King Fahd's stroke and is expected to maintain Saudi Arabia's commitment to stable oil markets and its close alliance with the West.

Unlike many Muslim states, Saudi Arabia has set no mourning period, in keeping with Wahhabi acceptance of God's will without question. Saudi flags, emblazoned with the proclamation of faith "There is no God but Allah", flew at full mast.

Shops and businesses opened as usual in the capital yesterday, though the mood among ordinary Saudis was subdued. Ordinary Saudis gathered at the funeral with leaders including Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Syria's Bashar al-Assad and Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai.

"He was a great man, a leader of the Muslim nation. I've come here to pay my respsects," said Saleh Khalifa, a 50-year-old resident of Riyadh as he entered the mosque. "He was a great king, may God have mercy on him," said wheelchair-bound Pakistani Liqat Ali, crying as he pushed himself purposefully towards the funeral.

Western leaders and dignitaries, including Britain's Prince Charles, were due to arrive later to offer condolences after the funeral service and burial. Some are expected on Wednesday.

US President George W. Bush, whose father had close ties with King Fahd, will send Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials to offer condolences.

Former president George Bush sent half a million US troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990 to launch the recapture of Kuwait from Saddam Hussein.