Explosion heard at US Embassy in Jeddah

An explosion was heard today in front of the US consulate in Jeddah (also known as Jiddah), witnesses said and there were reports that gunfire was heard before the blast.

One witness near the scene reported smoke rising from the area and said police were keeping cars and traffic from the area. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured.

Security around the consulate has been extremely tight since last year’s series of bombings against targets housing foreigners.