Uh oh. Is an attempted violent coup underway in Riyadh?

The 'breaking news' report is from Iran's state news agency so who knows, but it looks like something more than a drone flying near the palace is going on.



BREAKING NEWS
URGENT: Heavy Gunfire Ongoing Around Saudi King's Palace
April 22, 2018 - 12:55
FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- Heavy gunfire is ongoing near the Saudi King's palace in Riyadh Saudi Arabia, while King Salman has been taken to a bunker at an airbase in the city.

A growing number of videos are surfacing in [social] media showing that heavy gunfire is underway around King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's palace in the capital, Riyadh.

Reports said the king and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have been evacuated to a bunker at an airbase in the city that is under the protection of the US troops.

While Saudi officials and [state] media are quiet over the incident, there are contradicting reports about it. Witnesses and residents of the neighborhoods near the palace said a coup is underway, while other reports said a drone has been flying over the palace.

Saudi opposition members claimed that "a senior ground force officer has led a raid on the palace to kill the king and the crown prince".

Videos also show that a growing number of armored vehicles have deployed around the palace. 'Bin Salman's special guard' has taken charge of security in the capital. Riyadh's sky has been closed to all civil and military flights as military helicopters from 'Bin Salman's special guard' are flying over the palace.

There is yet no report on any possible casualties.

Yet a number of Saudi activists said in their twitter accounts that a drone has been flying over the palace and the palace guards started spraying bullet at the UAV as they are afraid that it could be a Yemeni military aircraft sent on a bombing mission to the King's palace.

Yemen's Ansarullah movement recently warned that it would use more drones in the war against Saudi Arabia.

The first such drone mission happened few weeks ago when the Yemenis sent pilotless aircraft on a mission over the Saudi Aramco oil company in Southern Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh's Police spokesman confirmed the shooting incident minutes ago, claiming that the guards have observed a helishot flying over the Al-Khazami Palace and started shooting at it.

[END REPORT]

*********