Yemen Houthis fire Scud missile at Saudi air base

A Scud missile was fired at a Saudi air base by Yemen's Houthi forces in retaliation for attacks by the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthi-linked television station said.

Al-Masirah television reported that the Scud, a powerful Cold War-era weapon, had been fired at a military base near the city of Khamees Mushait in the kingdom's southwest.

The area is home to the King Khaled air base, the largest air force base in southern Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, but there are no oil facilities in the vicinity.

Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman, a spokesman for Yemen's armed forces allies with Houthi fighters, says the missile hit the base and caused "widespread destruction". There was no immediate comment from the Saudi side.

Residents in Yemen's capital reported hearing a roar as what they said was a Scud was launched from near the city.

Yemen has been embroiled in open conflict since March, with fighting that pits the rebels, known as Houthis, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against the Saudi-backed and internationally recognised government, as well as southern separatists, local militias and Sunni extremists.

The Saudi-led coalition has come under mounting criticism over the civilian death toll in its campaign.

The United Nations estimates that around 5,000 people, many of them civilians, have been killed in the war in impoverished Yemen over the past seven months.