The United States embassy in Saudi capital Riyadh was targeted by two drones, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has announced. The ministry said that the incident sparked a small fire and resulted in minor damage to the building, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

According to AFP, smoke was seen rising from the compound.

The embassy warned people to avoid the location, saying there had been “an attack on the facility” and issued a security alert and a shelter in place notification for the cities of  Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran.

“We recommend American citizens in the Kingdom to shelter in place immediately,” it said, noting that it was limiting “non-essential travel to any military installations in the region.”

Gulf states hosting American military bases are facing a barrage of missile and drone attacks following the US-Israel attacks on Iran that killed many top military and political officials in Iran, including the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.   

Meanwhile, the number of American service members killed in the war rose to six, according to US Central Command.

Saudi Arabia also reported the destruction of five hostile drones near Prince Sultan Air Base, while the US Embassy in Kuwait has issued an emergency “take cover” warning for its citizens.

The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) said its air defence systems successfully intercepted and destroyed 70 missiles and 76 unmanned aerial vehicles. This sustained and brutal terrorist aggression has caused material damage to civilian properties and infrastructure, it said.

The General Command affirmed that all defence systems are at the highest state of readiness to ensure the immediate and decisive neutralisation of any threat.

The General Command urged all residents to remain indoors and to venture outside only in cases of absolute necessity, exercising the utmost caution and vigilance for their personal safety. 

Tank terminal fire in Abu Dhabi contained

In Abu Dhabi, authorities responded to a fire resulting from the targeting of a Mussafah fuel tank terminal by a drone. The situation was contained with no injuries and there was no impact on operations. 

The Qatari Ministry of Defence announced that it successfully continued to intercept and neutralise two ballistic missiles that targeted several areas within the country.

The ministry said the threat was dealt with immediately upon detection, in accordance with pre-approved operational plans, and that both missiles were intercepted before reaching Qatari territory, according to the Qatar News Agency.