Saudis intercept ballistic missile northeast of Riyadh: State media

Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted and destroyed a "ballistic missile" northeast of the capital Riyadh after it was launched from Yemen, state media reported.

"Saudi air defence intercepts ballistic missile northeast of Riyadh," Saudi state TV said.

State-run news channel Al-Ekhbariya said the missile "was of limited size [and] no injuries or damage" were reported.

The missile was destroyed near Riyadh's King Khaled international airport, which was functioning normally, it added.

Rocket fragments fell near the airport grounds, but air traffic carried on normally, the civil aviation authority said on its official Twitter account.

Residents of northern Riyadh reported hearing a single deafening explosion that rattled windows around 8:20pm local time, followed by rumbling and sounds of low-flying aircraft.

"We heard an enormous loud boom and went outside, then heard a low rumbling noise like thunder and six to 12 smaller explosions," one resident told Reuters.

The missile was fired into Saudi territory from Yemen at 8:00pm local time, the spokesman of a Saudi-led military coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed they had fired the missile, targeting the airport, the Houthis' Al-Masirah television said.

Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour Yemen has been torn apart by a war between the Saudi-backed government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and Houthi rebels backed by Iran.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to prop up Hadi's government after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa.

The rebels continue to hold much of the country.

United Nations-backed talks have failed to broker a political settlement to end the fighting, which has left more than 8,600 people dead since the coalition intervened.

A cholera outbreak has claimed more than 2,100 lives in Yemen since April as hospitals struggle to secure supplies amid a coalition air and sea blockade.

The United Nations has warned Yemen now stands on the brink of famine.