Saudi Arabia's air defence forces intercepted a ballistic missile over Riyadh on Wednesday, state media said, after at least three blasts were heard and three clouds of smoke were seen in the sky above the capital.

Yemen's Houthis targeted Saudi Arabia's defence ministry and other targets in Riyadh with Burkan-2 ballistic missiles on Wednesday, the group's Al Masirah TV said on Twitter.

There were no immediate reports of damage. Saudi state media said air defences had intercepted a missile over the capital.

Masirah TV also reported the Houthis had fired missiles at Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Najran and Jazan.

The Saudi coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen meanwhile said its air defences had shot down two unmanned Yemeni drones in the south of the country.

The first targeted Abha international airport in Asir province, while the second was approaching a "civilian object" in Jizan province.

The Houthis have said they targeted areas of southern Saudi Arabia with Qasef-1 drones.

According to a 2017 report by Conflict Armament Research, the Qasef-1 is "consistent with descriptions and imagery" of an Iranian drone, the Ababil-T.

Qasefs do not carry missiles but have previously be used as "suicide drones" to target Saudi air defences in Yemen, the research group said.

But the latest use inside Saudi territory appears to have widened Houthi tactics, and comes only weeks after Houthi forces fired several ballistic missiles at Riyadh, killing one civilian.

#المسيرة_عاجل | #القوه_الصاروخية تقصف وزارة الدفاع السعودية وأهدافا أخرى بالرياض بصواريخ بركان2 إتش — المسيرة - عاجل (@MasirahTV) April 11, 2018

Translation: Saudi defence ministry and other targets in Riyadh bombed with Burkan-2 ("volcano") rockets

Yemen's Houthis have stepped up missile attacks on the kingdom in what it says is retaliation for air raids by a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned armed movement.

One man was killed in Riyadh last month by debris after the military shot down a flurry of missiles, the first casualty of the Yemen war in the Saudi capital. </s> Saudi air defense forces shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi militia toward Khamees Mushait city in the kingdom's southwest on Tuesday night, a Saudi-led coalition said in a statement carried by the state news agency SPA.

The Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces destroyed the missile before it could cause any damage, according to the statement by the coalition, which since March 2015 has been fighting the Houthis to try to restore the Saudi-backed government of exiled president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Saudi forces responded to the missile attack by attacking the launch site, the statement added. </s> Yemen’s Shiite rebels fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Saudi Arabia late Sunday on the third anniversary of a kingdom-led war in Yemen, with fragments of one missile over Riyadh killing one person and wounding two.

The casualties were the first in Saudi Arabia’s capital since the Saudi-led war in Yemen began in March 2015, though previous rockets fired by the Yemeni rebels have caused deaths in other parts of the kingdom.

The rebels known as Houthis said they launched a missile attack targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and other sites, again showing their ability to strike deep into the neighbouring kingdom amid the stalemated war in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country.

The barrage likely will spark new criticism of Iran’s role in the conflict as well, as the Houthis identified some of the missiles fired as a type that the United Nations and the West say comes from Tehran.

The Saudi military said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis at the kingdom, three of them targeting Riyadh, two targeting Jazan and one apiece targeting Najran and Khamis Mushait.

The Saudi-owned satellite news channel Al Arabiya aired footage that it said showed Patriot missile batteries firing at the incoming Houthi missiles. Online videos showed what appeared to be a missile fuselage lying on a street in Riyadh.

One Egyptian national was killed and two other Egyptians suffered wounds when a fragment of a missile over Riyadh fell on a residential neighbourhood, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.

Houthi ballistic missiles have increased in range over time, with the first one targeting Riyadh fired on May 19, 2017, according to the United Nations. A Nov. 4 launch previously targeted King Khalid International Airport, showing the missiles had a range of over 1,000 kilometres.

The Nov. 4 attack saw the Saudi-led coalition escalate its attacks. It wasn’t immediately clear how the coalition would react to Sunday’s attack, though the barrage marks some 90 Houthi ballistic missile launches targeting Saudi Arabia.

Al Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, identified some of the missiles fired as the Burkan, or Volcano, missile. The United Nations, Western countries and the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen all say the Burkan mirrors characteristics of an Iranian Qiam ballistic missile. They say that suggests Tehran either shared the technology or smuggled disassembled missiles to the Houthis who then rebuilt them.

Iran long has denied supplying arms to the Houthis, though a growing body of evidence contradicts their claim.

Meanwhile, the U.S. provides logistical support and weaponry to the Saudi-led coalition, which has been criticized for its airstrikes on Yemen killing civilians, as well as a blockade of Yemeni ports that has brought the country to the edge of famine.

Over 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which began after the Houthis and their allies seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and began a march south. </s> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen's Shiite rebels and their allies fired a ballistic missile deep into Saudi Arabia, an overnight strike that they said on Friday had targeted an international airport while the kingdom claimed that it flew toward the holy Muslim city of Mecca.

Saudi Arabia said the missile was "intercepted and destroyed" 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Mecca, which is home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that the world's Muslims pray toward five times a day.

Angry Saudis soon denounced the missile fire online with hashtags questioning the faith of Yemen's Shiite rebels known as Houthis, as other Sunni Arab leaders in the Gulf linked the attack to Shiite power Iran.

Invoking Mecca also invigorated support for Saudi Arabia as it leads the stalemated war in the Arab world's poorest country, as well as turned attention away from those starving under a kingdom-led blockade and the civilians killed in its airstrikes.

The Saudi military said the missile, fired Thursday night from Yemen's northwestern Saada province, which borders the kingdom, caused no damage. The Saudi military has a supply of U.S.-made, surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries it previously has fired at Houthi-launched missiles.

The kingdom's military said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that it immediately targeted the area where the missile was launched in airstrikes.

The Houthis and their allies, including forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, have a stockpile of Soviet-era Scud missiles and locally designed variants. A Houthi ballistic missile fired earlier this month targeted Taif, home to Saudi Arabia's King Fahd Air Base, which also is near Mecca.

What the missile fired Thursday night targeted, however, quickly became a controversy.

The Houthi-controlled satellite news channel Al-Masirah said the Yemeni rebels had fired a Volcano-1 variant missile at Jiddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport, without mentioning Mecca. That airport is 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Mecca.

The Houthi-controlled SABA news agency said the missile "directly hit" the airport and caused massive destruction, though there were no delays or diversions affecting the airport Friday.

The Saudi military, however, stressed the missile was fired "toward" Mecca, without elaborating — the protection of the holy city is a key pillar of the Saudi royal family's prestige and the country's national identity.

Gulf Arab countries allied with Saudi Arabia immediately began condemning the attack, suggesting the Houthis intentionally targeted the Islamic world's holiest site. Many also immediately linked the attack to Iran, further inflaming regional sectarianism.

"The Iranian regime supports a terrorist group that launched its rockets on Mecca," Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan wrote on Twitter. "Is this regime Islamic as it claims?"

While analysts suggest Tehran doesn't have direct control over the Houthis, the U.S. Navy says it is has intercepted Iranian arms heading to the rebels.

In Iran, state media reported on the ballistic missile fire citing international reports, without any government comment.

Yemen, on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has been in the midst of a civil war since September 2014 when the Houthis swept into the capital of Sanaa and overthrew the country's internationally recognized government. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries began a military campaign against the Houthi forces, saying its mission served in part as a counterbalance to Iran's influence following its nuclear deal with world powers.

The Saudi-led campaign initially had the logistical and intelligence support of the U.S., but mounting civilian casualties from its airstrikes led to America pulling back, especially after a Saudi strike earlier this month on a funeral in Sanaa killed some 140 people and wounded over 600.

The U.S. also fired Tomahawk missiles at mobile Houthi radar sites after reporting its warships came under fire in the Red Sea near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb strait. In recent days, two commercial ships reportedly have come under fire in the same area.

United Nations efforts to strike a peace deal to end the conflict have been slow. The most recent plan apparently sidelines President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi of Yemen's internationally recognized government. Saudi Arabia launched its coalition campaign to restore Hadi's rule, so that's likely a deal breaker for the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

In the meantime, Yemen stands on the brink of famine. More than 10,000 people have been killed or wounded and 3 million of the country's 26 million people have been driven from their homes by the fighting. </s> RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s air defence forces intercepted a ballistic missile over Riyadh on Wednesday, state media said, after at least three blasts were heard and three clouds of smoke were seen in the sky above the capital.

Yemen’s Houthis has stepped up missile attacks on the kingdom in what it says is retaliation for air raids by a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned armed movement.

One man was killed in Riyadh last month by debris after the military shot down a flurry of missiles, the first casualty of the Yemen war in the Saudi capital.

Saudi Arabia and a coalition of mostly Gulf Arab states intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to try and push back the Houthis after the movement drove the internationally recognized government into Saudi exile.

The attack on Wednesday marked the fourth time in five months that missiles have flown over Riyadh, as the Houthis step up efforts to demonstrate they can reach the Saudi capital, and threatens to escalate a regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The coalition has launched thousands of air strikes in Yemen which have hit schools, markets and hospitals, killing hundreds of people - though it says it does not target civilians. </s> Saudi Arabia claims to have shot down seven ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militia, with debris killing a man in what was the first death in the capital Riyadh during the Saudi-led coalition's three-year military campaign in Yemen.

Saudi forces destroyed three missiles over north-eastern Riyadh shortly before midnight, as well as others fired at the southern cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

SPA said one man died and two other people were injured by "falling debris" in Riyadh.

However, videos shared online appeared to show a Saudi defence missile veering off course and crashing into a residential neighbourhood.

Reuters reporters in Riyadh heard several booms and saw smoke in the air.

Another witness said he saw a long stream of light followed by additional explosions.

In the al-Malqa neighbourhood, emergency personnel gathered near a crater in the ground and inspected shattered glass in nearby homes.

Iran' s state-owned Press TV claimed that a missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh but was intercepted.

It also claimed airports in Abha, Najran and Jizan were also targeted by missiles fired from Yemen.

The casualties were the first in Saudi Arabia's capital since the Saudi-led war in Yemen began in March 2015, although previous rockets fired by the Yemeni rebels caused deaths in other parts of the kingdom.

The attacks marked the third time in five months that missiles have flown over Riyadh, as the Houthis step up efforts to demonstrate they can reach the Saudi capital.

The missile attacks threaten to escalate a regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Houthi ballistic missiles have increased in range over time, with the first one targeting Riyadh fired in May last year, according to the United Nations.

The Saudi-led coalition of Gulf Arab states launched military operations against the Houthis in Yemen in March 2015, after the Iran-aligned Shiite militia seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa and forced President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi to flee.

Riyadh saw the move as a regional power grab by arch-foe Iran, although the Houthis deny any help from Tehran.

Saudi Arabia has called Iran's alleged supply of rockets to the Houthis "direct military aggression."

The United States, which provides support to the coalition, has also displayed what it said were Iranian-made weapons supplied to the Houthis, calling them conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating UN resolutions.

The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced more than 2 million, unleashing a humanitarian crisis in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country where nearly 1 million people have been infected with cholera. </s> Saudi Arabia’s air force intercepted on Friday a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-allied rebels towards the southern region of Najran, Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya reported.

The pro-government broadcaster reported no casualties or damage by the missile.

Najran, on the border with Yemen, has previously seen several attacks by the Yemeni Houthi rebels, who are the target of a Saudi-led air campaign.

The Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah television reported that Friday’s missile had targeted a Saudi army camp in Najran.

The missile was the fourth to be fired by Yemeni rebels into Saudi Arabia in three months.

In December, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the royal palace in the capital Riyadh.

In November, two ballistic missiles fired from Yemen were intercepted.

The first landed near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh while the other targeted the south-western Saudi province of Assir.

Yemen, one of the Arab world’s poorest countries, has been embroiled in a devastating power struggle between the Saudi-backed government and the Houthis since late 2014.

The conflict has intensified since March 2015, when the Houthis advanced on the government’s temporary capital of Aden, prompting Saudi Arabia and Sunni allies to start an air campaign against the Shiite group.

Saudi Arabia fears that the rebels will give its regional rival, Shiite Iran, a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula. </s> RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A ballistic missile launched from Yemen apparently targeted a Saudi air base near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi and rebel media reported Monday, the deepest strike yet into the kingdom by Shiite rebels and their allies.

Saudi state television aired a brief clip of what appeared to be a projectile landing in Taif and the flash of an explosion, following by images of emergency vehicles. Taif is home to Saudi Arabia’s King Fahad Air Base, which hosts U.S. military personnel training the kingdom’s armed forces.

The Saudi military said the missile fired late Saturday night caused no damage. The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Al-Masirah, a satellite news channel run by Yemen’s Shiite rebels known as Houthis, identified the missile as a local variant of a Soviet-era Scud missile. It said the Volcano-1 missile targeted the air base.

The Houthis have fired a series of ballistic missiles in Saudi Arabia since a kingdom-led coalition of Arab countries has launched an offensive against them in Yemen in March 2015. Most of those ballistic missiles have hit areas far closer to Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen, like an attack Friday night targeting the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait.

In the Taif attack, however, the missile struck a target more than 520 kilometers (325 miles) from the border. Taif also is just outside of Mecca, which is home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that all of the world’s Muslims pray toward.

The Saudi military also said it earlier intercepted another ballistic missile fired Sunday on the Yemeni city of Marib.

Houthis gave no reason for their targeting of Taif, but it comes after a Saudi-led airstrike Saturday targeting a funeral in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killed over 140 people and wounded 525. On Sunday, thousands marched through the streets of Sanaa to protest the strike, one of the deadliest single attacks in the impoverished Arab country’s relentless civil war.

Yemen’s war is largely overshadowed by the conflict against the Islamic State group elsewhere in the Middle East, though rights groups have mounted increased criticism of the Saudi-led airstrikes in recent months for killing civilians. The U.N. and rights groups estimate the conflict has killed at least 9,000 people and displaced nearly 3 million more.

Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report. </s> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Shiite rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile toward the holy Muslim city of Mecca overnight, Saudi Arabia said on Friday, the insurgents’ deepest strike yet into the kingdom amid the country’s stalemate civil war. Rebel media in Yemen said the missile targeted an international airport in Jiddah, though Saudi Arabia said it was “intercepted and destroyed” 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Mecca, which is home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that the world’s Muslims pray toward five times a day.

The missile launch shows the capability of Yemen’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies to continue to strike Saudi Arabia. It also drew the immediate anger of Saudi citizens, as the protection of Mecca is a key pillar of the Saudi royal family’s prestige and the country’s national identity.

The Saudi military said the missile, fired on Thursday night from Yemen’s northwestern Saada province bordering the kingdom, caused no damage. The Saudi military has a supply of US-made, surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries it previously has fired at Houthi-launched missiles.

The military said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that it immediately targeted the area where the missile was launched in air strikes.

The Houthis and their allies, including forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, have a stockpile of Soviet-era Scud missiles and locally designed variants. The Houthi-controlled satellite news channel Al-Masirah published a bulletin saying its forces had fired a Volcano-1 variant missile at Jiddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, without mentioning Mecca. That airport is 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Mecca.

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said the missile “directly hit” the airport and caused massive destruction. There were no immediate delays or diversions affecting the airport on Friday.

A Houthi ballistic missile fired earlier this month targeted Taif, home to Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Air Base, which also is near Mecca.

Yemen, on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has been in the midst of a civil war since September 2014, when the Iranian-backed Houthis swept into the capital of Sanaa and overthrew the country’s internationally recognized government. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries began a military campaign against the Houthi forces, saying its mission served in part as a counterbalance to Iran’s influence following its nuclear deal with world powers.

The Saudi-led campaign initially had the logistical and intelligence support of the US, but mounting civilian casualties from its air strikes led to America pulling back, especially after a Saudi strike earlier this month on a funeral in Sanaa killed some 140 people and wounded over 600. The US also fired Tomahawk missiles at mobile Houthi radar sites after reporting its warships came under fire in the Red Sea near the crucial Bab al-Mandeb strait.

In recent days, two commercial ships reportedly have come under fire in the same area.
The Royal Saudi Air Defense intercepts a ballistic missile fired from Yemen over the Saudi capital Riyadh that caused panic among residents. Houthis say they fired several Burkan-2 missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Aramco oil facilities. Separately, Saudi Air Defenses shoot down two Houthi-operated Qasef-1 drones near the border.