A gunman fired shots at the US Embassy in Lebanon and was wounded in an exchange of fire with troops, the Lebanese army said, Reuters reports.

The army said the attacker, a Syrian national, was taken to hospital for treatment and soldiers were searching through the area.

The US Embassy said small arms fire was reported near its entrance in the morning. The facility and staff were safe, it added.

A security source told Reuters a member of the embassys security team was wounded in the attack and that Lebanese soldiers wounded an attacker in the stomach.