“As a Lebanese, I am traumatised,” a 31-year-old expat and mother of two living in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, told AFP.

“We came to the Gulf because it’s known to be safer than Lebanon. Now I don’t know what to do or how to think really,” added the woman, who did not want to be named.

Another Riyadh resident, from Jordan, said: “It was honestly very scary and very loud.“

“I was just walking out with my little boy when we suddenly heard the blast. People around us were looking up at the sky, trying to understand what was happening. It’s not something you expect in Riyadh.“

In Bahrain’s capital Manama, residents were hurriedly evacuated from the Juffair district housing the US navy’s Fifth Fleet, whose base was hit in the attack.

“When we heard the sounds, we cried out of fear,” said Jana Hassan, a 15-year-old school student, who was visiting a friend in the area.

“We didn’t know what to do… I will never forget the sound of those loud blasts.”