RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi state TV says King Abdullah, the powerful US ally who joined Washington’s fight against al Qaeda and sought to modernize the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom, has died. He was 90.

The TV station said Abdullah died Friday.

His expected successor is his 79-year-old half brother, Prince Salman, who recently has taken on the ailing Abdullah’s responsibilities.

The announcement came in a statement read by a presenter on Saudi state TV, which aired video of worshipers at the Kaaba in Mecca.