One killed and 11 others wounded in Saudi Arabia in Houthi missile attack

Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired from Yemen by the Houthi rebels on Wednesday, with shrapnel from the missile killing a Yemeni man and wounding 11 others living in the southern Saudi city of Jizan, the Arab coalition said.

The ballistic missile was fired from the northern Yemeni province of Amran towards Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night, said a coalition statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.

"Shrapnel from the intercepted missile scattered over residential areas, martyring a Yemeni resident and wounding 11," said Col Turki Al Malki, the official spokesman of the Arab Coalition.

The attack marks the second ballistic missile fired by the rebels this week. Saudi forces on Monday intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Emran province in Yemen towards civilian areas in Najran. No damage was reported.

Three civilians were killed in Jizan in June from a Houthi missile deliberately targeting civilians, according to the coalition.

The Iran-backed Houthis have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh usually intercepts.

Wednesday's attack brings the tally to 165 rebel missiles launched since 2015, according to the coalition, which that year joined the Yemeni government's fight against Houthi rebels.

In 2014, the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and overthrew the government during a transition of power from longtime former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the current internationally-recognised leader of Yemen, Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies in the Arab coalition intervened in the conflict on behalf of President Hadi the following March, aiming to push back the Houthis and restore the legitimate government to power.

UN reports have found evidence of regional rival Tehran supplying the Houthis with ballistic missiles equipment, a charge Iran denies.

The war in the Arab world's poorest country has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The National