Saudi crown prince hosts Christian evangelicals

Saudi Arabia's crown prince has hosted a delegation of American Christian evangelicals, state media said, the latest such visit as the conservative Muslim kingdom seeks to repair its image of religious intolerance.

The visit comes on the eve of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, in which most of the hijackers who crashed jetliners into the twin towers in New York were identified as Saudi nationals.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met the delegation on Tuesday, led by Israeli-American author Joel Rosenberg, at his palace in the western city of Jeddah, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

"Honoured to be back in kingdom of Saudi Arabia for (the second) time in less than a year," Rosenberg said on Twitter. "We met (with) his royal highness the crown prince (and) other senior officials to discuss terrorism, peace, religious freedom and human rights."