Saudi Arabian security forces have shot down a small
drone in the capital
Riyadh, sparking fears of increased tensions with Iran in the
Middle East.
The action was taken after videos were posted online showing gunfire in a neighbourhood where a royal palace is located.
A spokesman of the Riyadh police, quoted by the official Saudi News Agency, said one of the security screening points noticed an unauthorised small recreational drone fyling at 7:50pm loacal time, leading the security men to deal with it according to their orders and instructions.
A senior Saudi official told Reuters that King Salman was not at his palace in Riyadh at the time.
“The king was at his farm in Diriya,” the official said, naming another area of the capital.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency wrote on Twitter that an investigation into the incident was underway.
Earlier footage circulating on social media showed loud shooting that lasted for at least 30 seconds, leading to fears about a possible coup attempt and questions about the whereabouts of the King and the Crown Prince.
Initial fears over a potential attack were stoked as in Yemen, Shiite rebels and their allies fighting against a Saudi-led coalition have previously used bomb-carrying drones and flown others into the kingdom’s Patriot missile batteries.
The Saudi-led coalition and weapons analysts have said evidence suggests Iran supplies those drones, as well as light weapons and ballistic-missile technology, to the rebels.
Iran has denied providing arms to the rebels but has criticised the US for largely arming the Saudi-led coalition.
In January, fears of a Middle Wast war erupting were sparked after a ballistic missile was fired at a Saudi Arabia military base.
Houthi forces in Yemen claimed responsibility for shooting the rocket towards a camp near the Yemeni border, according to reports.
It was said to be targeting the Najran Region of the country.
But Saudi Arabia intercepted the rocket over its south region border with Yemen and blasted it out of the sky.
Yemen's rebel-run Al-Masirah TV said the missile hit its target with "high accuracy."
The rebels later said they fired another missile, targeting Saudi-backed forces along Yemen's western coast.
A deadly civil war has been raging in Yemen for more than two years and has claimed the lives of more than 16,000 people.
A Saudi Arabia-led military alliance has launched thousands of air strikes against Houthi forces, which now control much of Yemen.