Saudi intercepts missile fired from Yemen capital

Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired on its territory from Yemen's capital, held by the Houthis, the Saudi-led coalition announced on Sunday.

Saudi air defence forces intercepted "a Scud missile fired from Sanaa in Yemen towards the city of Najran" late on Saturday, just nine-months after the start of the Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthis. 

More than 80 people, most of them soldiers and border guards, have been killed in shelling and cross-border skirmishes in the kingdom's south since coalition operations began in March.

Across the border in Yemen, the conflict has left nearly 6,000 people killed since March, according to UN figures.

Soon after the missile was shot on Saturday, coalition jets destroyed the launch pad, Saudi Arabia's official SPA news agency reported.

The Houthis have intensified their rocket attacks across the Saudi border over the past week, prompting the coalition to threaten severe reprisals and deploy Patriot missile batteries.

In a statement published on their sabanews.net website, the Houthis said they fired rockets at Jizan and Najran on the Saudi side of the border on Saturday, causing "losses in life and equipment".

They also said they fired another ballistic missile on Najran on Sunday. Saudi Arabia has not yet confirmed this attack.