RIYADH: The embassy of the United States in Saudi capital Riyadh is reported to have been struck by multiple drones, triggering a ball of fire and causing material damages.
This was followed by the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia issuing a shelter in place notification for Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran, limiting non-essential travel to any military installations in the region saying “we recommend American citizens in the Kingdom to shelter in place immediately and avoid the Embassy until further notice due to an attack on the facility.”
According to western media reports as well as Saudi officials, the drone attack came amid ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes on Israel and regional Arab states that host U.S. bases, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday.
Soon after the attack on US embassy, locals posted visuals on social media showing black smoke rising over Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, which houses foreign missions. Initial reports gathered by MM news from multiple sources indicate no casualties.
Late on Monday, it may be added here, the US state department called on Americans to immediately depart more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, after reports indicating that the conflict triggered by US-Israeli strikes against Iran was spiraling out of control.
Mora Namdar, the state department’s assistant secretary for consular affairs, urged US citizens to leave using available commercial transportation “due to safety risks”.
