Yemen's Houthi rebels claim drone attack on 'important target' in Saudi capital Riyadh

Yemen's Houthi's on Monday claimed they struck an "important" military target in the Saudi capital Riyadh, after a series of attacks claimed by the rebels over the weekend.

The Iran-backed rebels said that they had attacked an "important target" in Riyadh with an armed drone, Reuters reported, citing a military spokesman.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen dismissed the report, with spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki saying the Houthi claims were "fake and deceptive".

There were no immediate comments from other authorities in Saudi Arabia.

The incident comes a day after Saudi Arabia intercepted six missiles fired by the Yemeni rebels at the southern city of Jizan on Sunday.

The missiles fired targeted civilians in Jizan, the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.

No damage or casualties were reported.

Earlier on Sunday, the coalition said they shot down a Houthi drone fired towards the southern city of Khamis Mushait, the site of a major military base.

The Houthi rebels have stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks in recent months, saying they are in retaliation for the Saudi-led air war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused Iran of supplying sophisticated weapons to the Houthis, a charge Tehran denies.

The coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government in 2015 after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and closed in on the government's temporary base of Aden.

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

It has triggered what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.