Saudi Arabia says new Yemen missile intercepted

RIYADH: Saudi air defences on Tuesday intercepted a ballistic missile fired from rebel-held territory in neighbouring Yemen, state media reported, as a Riyadh-led military coalition intensifies an offensive to capture a strategic port.

The missile targeted Khamis Mushait in the kingdom's south and caused no casualties, the coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The Iran-allied Huthi rebels said via their news outlet Al-Masirah they had targeted a Saudi Aramco facility near the southwestern city of Abha.

The state-owned oil giant was not immediately reachable for comment.

The rebels have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition that has fought the Huthis since 2015.

On Thursday last week, Saudi air defences intercepted another ballistic missile over the nearby city of Khamis Mushait, but no casualties were reported, state media said.

On Sunday, it said a Huthi missile targeted the southern city of Jizan, leaving a Pakistani national wounded.

The strikes come as Yemeni pro-government forces are locked in heavy battles with Huthi rebels as they press an offensive backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to retake the key aid hub of Hodeida.

Saudi Arabia last month tested a new siren system for the capital Riyadh and the oil-rich Eastern Province, in a sign of the increasing threat posed by the rebels' arms.

Riyadh accuses its regional rival Tehran of supplying the Huthis with ballistic missiles, a charge Iran denies.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back the rebels and restore the internationally recognised government to power after the Huthis ousted it from swathes of the country including the capital Sanaa.

Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed, contributing to what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.