Two US citizens shot at in Saudi, one wounded

One person has been wounded in Saudi Arabia after an unknown assailant opened fire on two US citizens in the al-Ihsaa governate of the country’s restive Eastern Province on Friday.

A statement released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, citing a police report, said that a vehicle carrying the two US citizens was fired on from an “unknown source” on Saladin al-Ayubi Street in al-Mubarraz City. Saudi special forces are now conducting a criminal investigation, according to the report.  

The injured American was taken to a hospital and is reportedly in a "stable condition".

The US embassy in Riyadh announced on Twitter that it was aware of the shooting and was "looking into it."

The shooting is the latest in a series of attacks on foreigners in the kingdom.

In December, police arrested three supporters of the Islamic State for shooting and injuring a Danish citizens in his car in Riyadh.

Earlier in the month, a Canadian was also stabbed and injured in a shopping mall in Dhahran, also in the Eastern Province.

In October, a Saudi-American who had been sacked from his job with a US defence contractor, shot and killed an American, who was his former colleague, in Riyadh.

The Eastern Province has been the site of unrest in recent years due to frequent demonstrations by Shiite citizens who claim they are discriminated against by the Saudi government.

In November, masked gunmen killed five Shiites in the village of al-Dalwa in the al-Ihsaa governate, shortly before the minority community prepared to celebrate the festival of Ashura.