Coalition claims

Metal shrapnel littered a street in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, home to most embassies, a diplomatic source told AFP. The area has been cordoned off by security officials, the source added.

The Iran-backed rebels’ news outlet Al-Masirah said missiles had struck the Saudi defence ministry and other sites in the capital.

Turki al-Maliki, a coalition spokesman, denied that the ministry had been hit.

The insurgents, who have ramped up missile attacks against Saudi Arabia in recent months, regularly claim successful strikes.

The Kingdom usually says it has intercepted the missiles.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back the rebels and restore the internationally recognised government to power after the Houthis ousted it from swathes of the country including the capital Sanaa.

The rebels have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Saudi forces have previously shot down Houthi missiles with Patriot surface-to-air missiles purchased from the United States.

The latest strikes come as Yemeni pro-government forces are locked in heavy battles with Houthi rebels as they press an offensive backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to retake the key aid hub of Hodeida.

Saudi Arabia last month tested a new siren system for Riyadh and the oil-rich Eastern Province, in a sign of the growing threat posed by the rebels’ arms.