Saudi Arabia's air defence teams destroyed 17 drones fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels at the kingdom on Saturday.
A spokesman from the Iran-backed group said in a tweet on Saturday afternoon that a drone had been launched towards a military base in Khamis Mushait – a south-western Saudi city about 100km from the Yemeni border.
The coalition said two further drones were fired at Khamis Mushait, while eight drones were fired at other locations in the south of the kingdom, one of which was aimed at the city of Najran, state TV reported.
Defence teams intercepted all the drones.
Khamis Mushait has been targeted repeatedly by the Houthis during the more than six-year conflict in Yemen.
They have been targeting Saudi cities in almost daily attacks, injuring many civilians and damaging homes, shops and cars.
The Houthis hit a Saudi school in Asir province with a bomb-laden drone last week. Although there were no casualties, there was significant damage to the building’s roof, images released by the Saudi Press Agency showed.
The coalition paused its military operations in Yemen last week to help peace efforts – the second time the Saudi-led force has halted offensives since the pandemic struck last year.
Gulf Co-operation Council states supported this effort by urging the Houthis to co-operate with a Saudi peace initiative for Yemen.
UN envoy Martin Griffiths has again been in the region for a series of meetings in a bid to build momentum for peace talks. However, last week he offered a bleak picture of prospects of a halt to the fighting.
In an address to the UN Security Council last Tuesday, Mr Griffiths said he was unable to bridge differences between the internationally recognised government and the Houthi rebels.
A military coalition led by Riyadh intervened in Yemen in March 2015 at the request of the internationally recognised government after the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in a coup and arrested members of the government.
