Two members of the Saudi security forces were killed on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle, an Interior Ministry spokesman quoted by state news agency SPA said.

"At one o'clock in the morning a security patrol in the province of Qatif came under fire from an unknown source", the spokesman said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack which took place on the outskirts of Seihat.

The kingdom, the world's top oil exporter, has been hit by a spate of deadly shooting and bomb attacks in recent months, many of them claimed by Islamic State. - Reuters