Explosions in Riyadh as air defences 'intercept Houthi rocket'

At least three loud blasts were heard and three clouds of smoke were seen in the sky above Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Wednesday, Reuters has reported.

There was no immediate comment from the government but according to Saudi news channel al-Arabiya, the explosions were caused by the Saudi air defence intercepting a rocket.

This comes hours after Yemen's Houthi rebel group announced that they had launched drone rocket strikes against Saudi Arabia, according to an update on their al-Masirah news channel.

The channel said in a tweet that the group had launched a "Qasef 1" drone aircraft heading for the Abha airport in the southwestern Saudi city of Aseer.

In a second tweet, the group announced that the drone would carry out airstrikes on the state oil and gas company Aramco in the southern Saudi city of Jizan, near the border with Yemen.

Qasef 1 is a drone aircraft previously unveiled by the militant rebel group.

The channel did not provide any details on casualties of damage from the alleged attack, however Saudi authorities said its facilities in Jizan were operating "normally and safely" following the Houthis' announcement.