Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has appointed Prince Khaled bin Bandar as head of intelligence three months after his predecessor, who was in charge of efforts to support armed terrorist groups in Syria, was sacked.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has appointed Prince Khaled bin Bandar as head of intelligence three months after his predecessor, who was in charge of efforts to support armed terrorist groups in Syria, was sacked.

It was unclear from the royal decree issued late on Monday whether Prince Khaled will have a similar brief on Syria and regional affairs.

A former soldier, he served during the last year as both deputy defense minister and governor of Riyadh, one of the most prominent roles occupied by senior ruling family members in the absolute monarchy.

Riyadh's policy in Syria is to back armed mercenaries it sees as moderate in an effort to bring down the national government.

Last week King Abdullah ordered "all measures" to be taken to protect the country against militants and put the army on a higher state of alert.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who was removed from his post in April after months abroad for medical treatment and who faced intense criticism for his handling of the Syria crisis, was made a special adviser to the king and a special envoy in the decree.

He retains his post as the secretary-general of the National Security Council, state news agency SPA reported.

It was not clear if his new appointment means he will return to playing an active role in Saudi security and foreign policy.

Syria was hit by a violent unrest since mid-March 2011, where the Syrian government accuses foreign actors, mainly the Saudi Arabia and Turkey, of orchestrating the conflict by supporting the militant opposition groups with arms and money.

Today hundreds of armed groups, including terrorist Takfiri brigades affiliated with Al-Qaeda, are battling both the national army and each other, complicating any efforts to reach a political settlement.