Riyadh: Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away on Thursday, December 7, following the crash of a fighter plane during a training mission. He was 62.
The Saudi royal court announced the prince’s passing, saying that funeral prayers to be held at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh on Friday, December 8, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The royal court has not disclosed the cause of the prince’s death, but according to several Saudi media reports, the he died when his F-15 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise, along with Lieutenant Colonel Pilot Majid bin Matar bin Jazaa Al-Otaibi.
On Thursday, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced the downing of a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA fighter plane during a routine mission at King Abdulaziz Air Base in Dhahran, and the killing of its two members, SPA reported.
Who was Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz?
Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz, born 1961, was the son of Prince Bandar and the grandson of the first Saudi monarch, King Abdulaziz.
He was a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Saudi Air Force and served as assistant intelligence chief at the GIP, the Saudi intelligence agency, from 2004 to 2012.
The late prince held significant intelligence roles, including assistant and deputy chief, working closely with Muqrin bin Abdulaziz. His tenure ended in 2012 with Youssef bin Ali Al Idrissi.
