A woman uses her mobile phone to take picture of the damage created by debris, after ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militia, fell at a house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
RIYADH: Saudi air defenses shot down seven ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militia on Sunday, with debris killing a man in what was the first death in the capital during the Saudi-led coalition's three-year military campaign in Yemen.
Saudi forces destroyed three missiles over northeastern Riyadh shortly before midnight, as well as others fired at the southern cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
Debris from the missiles fell on a home in Riyadh, killing an Egyptian resident and wounding two other Egyptians, said coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki, according to SPA.
Reuters reporters in Riyadh heard several booms and saw smoke in the air. Another witness said he saw a long stream of light followed by additional explosions.
In al-Malqa neighbourhood, emergency personnel gathered near a crater in the ground and inspected shattered glass in nearby homes.
The attack marked the third time in five months that missiles have flown over Riyadh, as the Houthis step up efforts to demonstrate they can reach the Saudi capital, and threatened to escalate a regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi-run SABA news agency reported the group's missile force had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a Burkan H2 missile.
The group also fired other types of missiles at airports in Jizan, Najran and Abha, another southern Saudi city, according to the SABA report.
The Saudi-led coalition of Gulf Arab states launched military operations against the Houthis in Yemen in March 2015.
