Saudi-led coalition says ballistic missile fired toward Madina destroyed in the air

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have fired a ballistic missile toward the city of Madina in western Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led military coalition says the Houthi missile was destroyed in mid-air.

Saudi authorities said the missile was launched from Yemen on Thursday (5 November).

In a message posted on social media platform X, Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the missile fired by the Houthis was destroyed in the sky.

However, the coalition gave no clear information on exactly what the ballistic missile's intended target was, or whether destroying it caused any damage.

There was no immediate reaction from the Houthi rebels to the coalition's claim, the French news agency AFP reported.

The conflict between the Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen's internationally recognised government, and the Houthis has intensified in recent times. A day earlier, on Wednesday, Houthi rebels also launched a missile attack on the international airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The Saudi-led regional coalition has been conducting a military campaign against the Houthis since March 2015, after the rebels seized Yemen's capital Sanaa and large parts of the country in 2014.