Explosion above Saudi capital of Riyadh – days after missile targeting the city was intercepted 

An explosion has been heard in the Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh on Tuesday just days after a missile targeting the city was intercepted.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV cited local reports of an explosion and videos circulating on social media of a missile being intercepted over Riyadh early this afternoon.

Mohammed Khalid Alyahya, editor in chief at Al Arabiya English, wrote on Twitter: ‘Breaking: Loud explosion heard in Riyadh less than a minute ago.

‘A friend in Riyadh who I am on the phone with said his house in the Diplomatic Quarter shook.’ 

On Saturday, the Saudi-led military coalition engaged in Yemen had said it had intercepted and destroyed an ‘enemy air target’ launched towards Riyadh.

‘I heard a loud sound and thought that something had fallen from the sky,’ said one resident, who lives in the Al-Sulaimaniyah district of Riyadh. ‘The whole house was shaking.’

Rebel spokesman Yahya Sarie said that Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthis were not behind the incident and ‘have not conducted any offensive operations against the aggressor countries in the past 24 hours’.

In a statement carried by rebel media, Sarie added that ‘any operation is announced with full pride and honour’.

Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly targeted by the Huthis since its 2015 intervention in Yemen, where it leads a military coalition that includes the United Arab Emirates that backs the government.

It is rare, however, for drones and missiles launched by the Huthis to reach the kingdom’s capital 435 miles from the Yemeni border.