SANAA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels said they fired several ballistic missiles toward the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday, while Saudi media reported the interception of one missile.
In a statement posted on the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency, the rebels said they fired several missiles aimed at an information center of the Saudi defense ministry and other royal targets in Riyadh.
The rebels did not specify an exact number of the missiles they fired or the name of the three other Saudi royal targets.
Meanwhile, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported that the Saudi air defenses intercepted one missile over Riyadh and destroyed it.
The television did not report further details.
The Houthi missile attack was the latest in a series of frequent attacks against various areas in the kingdom, with the majority of the missiles reportedly intercepted.
The attack comes as fighting escalates between the Iranian-allied Houthi rebels and pro-government Yemeni troops, supported by the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
The coalition-backed troops have been advancing slowly into the center of the rebel-held city, in attempts to capture it after seizing control of the airport from the rebels last week.
The military action forced thousands of residents to flee their homes as humanitarian agencies have warned of the most anticipated humanitarian catastrophe in the modern history if the armies move ahead to storm the city with a population of 600,000.
The coalition aimed to deprive Houthi movement of their solo vital sea port. Saudi Arabia accuses Houthis of smuggling in Iranian missile technology and weapons through the port, which are denied by both Houthis and Iran.
Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab coalition in the war against the Iranian-allied Shiite Houthis since March 2015 to support the Yemeni exiled government.
