Saudi Arabia downs Houthi missiles over Riyadh, Jazan and Abha

ISLAMABAD: The Saudi-led coalition announced Wednesday that its air defence systems intercepted at least three Houthi missiles launched toward the Saudi capital Riyadh as its residents posted on social media their accounts of hearing a loud explosion and seeing smoke in the sky, the Arab News reported.

Three rockets were intercepted in the capital and the southern cities of Jizan and Najran, according to state media and the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The missiles followed the downing of two Houthi drones earlier on Wednesday in Jizan and the nearby city of Abha, the coalition said.

Houthis militia have launched missiles at Riyadh in recent months, and dozens have been fired at southern Saudi cities that border Yemen.

A missile fragment last month killed an Egyptian resident of Riyadh - the first death reported in the capital as a result of the Houthi missile strikes.

The coalition also announced that its defence systems had downed a drone that was directed towards Abha airport and a second one that was heading towards a civilian neighborhood in Jazan.

The coalition warned Houthi militia and those supporting them for using terrorist suicide attacks tactics against civilian areas, saying that it would respond in the most decisive way against those terrorist intrusions targeting residential areas in the kingdom. Those supplying the Houthi militias with drone capabilities would also pay a dire price, it added.