Saudi Arabia intercepts drone launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels

The Saudi military said on Wednesday that its air defences intercepted a drone launched from over the kingdom's southern border with Yemen by Houthi rebels.

Col. Turki al-Maliki, a military spokesman, was quoted in the state-run Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday as saying the drone was launched by the Houthi rebels from Yemen's governorate of Sanaa toward the Saudi city of Jizan.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group had earlier said on Facebook that it had launched a drone attack on Jizan airport, which it claimed had disrupted airport operations.

Late Tuesday, al-Maliki had announced the interception of three other Houthi drones launched at Saudi cities near Yemen's border.

Bomb-laden drones launched by the Houthis have killed a civilian and wounded others in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.

A Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen's government has been at war with the Houthis since 2015. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis, with Saudi-led airstrikes blamed for many civilian deaths.

The fighting has triggered what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with millions of people displaced and in need of aid.