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A
spokesman for the Houthi movement said a ballistic missile
targeted the royal court at al-Yamama palace, where a meeting of
Saudi leaders was under way.
There was no official word on this assertion, but a royal family
member appeared to confirm the missile was aimed at a royal
palace meeting.
"Coalition forces confirm intercepting an Iranian-Houthi missile
targeting (the) south of Riyadh. There are no reported
casualties at this time," the government-run Center for
International Communication wrote on its Twitter account.
The attack happened hours before Saudi Arabia was due to
announce the country's annual budget in a news conference
expected to be attended by senior ministers.
Reuters witnesses described hearing a blast and said they saw
smoke in the north-east of Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia said on Nov. 4 it had intercepted a ballistic
missile over Riyadh's King Khaled Airport, in an attack that
provoked a strong reaction from the kingdom.
Riyadh accused Iran of smuggling the missile to the Houthis and
imposed a blockade on Yemen demanding that united Nations
inspection procedures be tightened.
Last week the United States presented for the first time pieces
of what it said were Iranian weapons supplied to the Houthis,
describing it as conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating
U.N. resolutions.
Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional foe, has denied supplying such
weaponry to the Houthis who have taken over the Yemeni capital
Sanaa and other parts of the country during its civil war.
In Geneva, a U.N. human rights spokesman said air strikes by a
Saudi-led military coalition had killed at least 136 civilians
and non-combatants in Yemen since December 6.
(Reporting by Katie Paul and Rania El Gamal, Writing by Sylvia
Westall; Editing by Michael Georgy, William Maclean)
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