Yemen rebels attack Saudi airport for fourth time in week

Yemen's Houthi rebels have said they have attacked hangers containing Saudi war planes in the southwest of the kingdom amid an escalation in cross-border rebel attacks.

Pro-rebel news website Al-Masirah said on Sunday the Houthis used a combat drone to attack Najran airport.

The outlet said it was the fourth attack on the airport in a week.

The attacks come amid tensions in the Gulf between the United States and rebel-backer Iran.

Najran, 840 kilometres southwest of Riyadh, is near the Saudi-Yemen border and has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis over the past four years.

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday shot down a bomb-laden drone deployed by rebels.

Watch: Yemen in Focus: Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia aggravate Gulf tensions

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back an advance by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, relief agencies say.

It has triggered what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 24.1 million - more than two-thirds of the population - in need of aid.