By Timour Azhari
March 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom’s defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
The drone attack came amid ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes on Gulf states that host U.S. bases, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the circumstances of the incident.
A loud blast was heard and flames were seen at the U.S. embassy in Riyadh early on Tuesday morning, three people familiar with the matter said, with one person saying the fire was minor.
Black smoke was seen rising over Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, which houses foreign missions.
There were no reported injuries, two of the people familiar with the matter said, given the building was empty in the early morning hours.
The embassy issued a “shelter in place” notice early on Tuesday for U.S. citizens in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran, and recommended that they avoid the embassy until further notice due to the attack on the facility.
An embassy spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Saudi government media office.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari, Yomna Ehab and Enas Alashray; Editing by Chris Reese and Tom Hogue)
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