RIYADH – Saudi air defences shot down seven ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia on Sunday, with debris killing a man in what was the first death in the capital during the Saudi-led coalition’s three-year military campaign in Yemen.
Saudi forces destroyed three missiles over northeastern Riyadh shortly before midnight, as well as others fired at the southern cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
Debris from the missiles fell on a home in Riyadh, killing an Egyptian resident and wounding two other Egyptians, said coalition spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Malki, according to SPA.
Reuters reporters in Riyadh heard several booms and saw smoke in the air.
Another witness said he saw a long stream of light followed by additional explosions. The attack marked the third time in five months missiles have flown over Riyadh, as the Houthis step up efforts to demonstrate they can reach the Saudi capital, and threatened to escalate a regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
