Saudi king phones Trump in wake of anti-graft purge

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz made a phone call on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The call came one day after a massive sweeps of princes, sitting ministers and former officials as part of an anti-corruption purge.

During the phone call, the Saudi monarch denounced a truck-ramming attack in New York last week, in which eight people were killed, according to the official SPA news agency.

The king "reiterated his country's support for measures taken by the United States to fight terrorism and maintain its national security".

He underlined the importance of "rallying international efforts to uproot all forms of terrorism", SPA said.

Trump, for his part, hailed the role played by Saudi Arabia in combating extremism.

During the contact, the two leaders discussed aspects of bilateral cooperation and regional and international developments.

On Saturday, Saudi authorities detained 11 princes, four sitting ministers and a dozen of former ministers in an anti-corruption purge.

Saudi media said billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and National Guard minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah were among those detained in the sweep.

The arrests came hours after an anti-corruption committee, under Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, was formed by a royal decree.