KUWAIT (AP) - The emir of Kuwait suffered a brain hemorrhage and was flown to London on Friday for treatment, removing him from the country even as the United States looks to its close Persian Gulf ally for help in building an anti-terrorism coalition.
Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, 75, was in stable condition, the emir's office said in a statement run on state-run television. He left the country in the evening on a Kuwaiti plane.
Earlier Friday, Kuwaiti television had reported that the emir, who was not known to have any serious illnesses, had been admitted to a hospital for ``routine tests.'' The television quoted his office as saying he was ``well and in good health.''
Brain hemorrhages are often caused by strokes, but there were no details on Sheik Jaber's illness. King Fahd of neighboring Saudi Arabia send a plane equipped with medical services to London to be at the emir's disposal, the official Kuwait News Agency said.
The government appeared to take the news of the emir's illness calmly. There was no deployment of security forces on the streets of Kuwait City, only a few police cars outside Al-Amiri Hospital where the emir was being treated.
Sheik Jaber has ruled the small, oil-rich state since Dec. 31, 1977. He was in power when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, and he was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia with the rest of the royal family. He returned to his homeland after an international coalition led by the United States drove out the Iraqis in February 1991.
First in line to succeed the emir is the crown prince, Sheik Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, who at 71 is also in poor health. Sheik Saad, the prime minister and a distant cousin of the emir, has undergone surgery for bleeding in the colon and has spent long periods in Britain and the United States for treatment.
Next in line would most likely be the emir's brother, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the 72-year-old foreign minister, who is believed already to be running the country's day-to-day affairs because of the prime minister's health problems.
PHOTO CAPTION:
FILE--The emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, is seen in this April 17, 2001 file photo. The emir of Kuwait suffered a brain hemorrhage and was flown to London on Friday, Sept. 21, 2001, for treatment, removing him from the country even as the United States looks to its close Persian Gulf ally for help in building an anti-terrorism coalition. (AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)
- Sep 21 2:13 PM ET