Saudi Arabia says it intercepts missile attack over capital

Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted a missile attack over its capital and bomb-laden drones targeting a southern province, the latest in a series of airborne assaults it has blamed on Yemen’s rebel Houthis.

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen’s years-long war says the Iran-allied rebels had launched a ballistic missile toward Riyadh and several booby-trapped drones toward the province of Jizan. No casualties or damages are initially reported. There is no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The attack comes amid sharply rising tensions in the Middle East, a day after a mysterious explosion struck an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman, renewing concerns about ship security at the same site that saw a spate of suspected attacks on oil tankers in 2019 that the US Navy blamed on Iran.