Heavy gunfire has been heard near the royal palace in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh.

The official spokesman of district police in Riyadh said on Saturday that security forces "dealt with" an unauthorized, small drone-type toy after spotting it at a security point in Khuzama neighbourhood, state-run news agency SPA said.

An investigation into the incident, which happened at 7:50pm (16:50 GMT), was under way, added SPA.

Videos posted online purportedly from the area showed heavy gunfire.

There was no immediate information about any injuries or damage.

An unnamed senior Saudi official told Reuters news agency that Saudi Arabia's King Salman was not in his palace at the time of the incident.

"The king was at his farm in Diriya," the official said, naming another area of Riyadh.

In October 2017, agunman drove up to a gate of the king's palacein the Red Sea city of Jeddah and opened fire, killing at least two security guards and wounding three others before being shot dead.

The attacker, who was identified by the interior ministry as Mansour al-Amri, a 28-year-old Saudi national, was armed with a Kalashnikov rifle and three Molotov cocktails. (Aljazeera)