A US defence contractor said today that two of its American employees came under fire in the latest attack against Westerners in Saudi Arabia.
It was the second time in recent months that staff of the contractor Vinnell Arabia have been targeted.
"We can confirm that two Vinnell Arabia employees were involved in an incident on Friday, in which they were shot at by assailants in the al-Ahsa province of Saudi Arabia," the company said in a statement issued through a public relations firm.
"Both employees were injured but are in stable condition at a local hospital," it added.
Saudi police said earlier that one American had been wounded in a shooting in the eastern region which is the source of most of the kingdom's oil wealth.
Vinnell Arabia provides training for the Saudi National Guard, a parallel army.
A source close to the incident told AFP that several rounds were fired at the Vinnell vehicle from a white car.
The Vinnell driver was hit several times, the source said, adding he was not aware of injuries to the second employee who was able to drive his wounded colleague to hospital.
The incident occurred just east of a National Guard base near Hofuf city.
On Friday, a resident of al-Ahsa told AFP that police had blocked off the area around a National Guard facility.
Asked about a possible motive for the shooting, interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki said: "We're still waiting for the results of the investigation."
The attack is the fourth against Westerners in the kingdom since October. It comes as Saudi Arabia participates in United States-led air strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, raising concerns about possible retaliation.
In October, one Vinnell employee was shot dead and another wounded at a petrol garage in the capital Riyadh.
The interior ministry identified the suspected shooter as a US-born Saudi who had been fired from Vinnell Arabia.
"It was not a terrorist-related incident," Turki said.
Vinnell's Facebook page says it is "dedicated to providing the best in military training, logistics and support" to the Saudi National Guard, using expertise from former US military and government personnel.
