US Embassy in Saudi capital hit by drones, fire reported

An attack by two drones early Tuesday on the US embassy in Riyadh sparked a small fire, a Saudi defence ministry spokesman said in a statement, while Iran pressed on with retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.

"The US Embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, according to initial assessments. The attack resulted in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building," the statement said.

Two witnesses told AFP they saw fire engines around the embassy.

Earlier, witnesses said they had seen smoke over the building housing the US mission and heard loud explosions in the diplomatic quarter, home to foreign embassies in the Saudi capital.

A source close to the Saudi army told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, that Saudi air defence intercepted four drones targeting Riyadh's diplomatic quarter in the attack.

In the aftermath, the US embassy issued shelter in place notifications for Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran and limited non-essential travel to any military installations in the region.

The attacks in Saudi coincided with a wave of missiles and drones launched at Gulf states with the UAE defence ministry saying it was dealing with a barrage of ballistic missiles coming from Iran.

In Qatar, military intercepted two ballistic missiles early Tuesday morning, the country's defence ministry said in a statement.

New explosions were heard again later in Riyadh on Tuesday, an AFP journalist and residents said.

Tehran began region-wide attacks in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes that have devastated its leadership.

Iran's salvos have hit ports, airports, residential buildings and hotels along with military sites across the wealthy region of oil giants.

On Monday smoke poured out of Kuwait City's US embassy, an AFP correspondent saw.

Later, a Kuwait-based diplomat and a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the embassy had been damaged by several drones, while a second Kuwait-based diplomat said the building had been struck directly.