Several witnesses, including Reuters journalists, reported hearing several loud booms and bright flashes in the sky shortly before midnight in the Saudi capital. As-yet unverified footage, which has emerged online, shows an alleged mid-air explosion of the interceptor from several angles.

There have been no immediate reports of any casualties.

The missile was reportedly fired by Houthi rebel fighters. Yemen's Houthi-run SABA news agency reported that the group's missile force had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a Burkan H2 missile. The group also claims to have fired other types of missiles at airports in the southern Saudi cities of Abha, Jizan and Najran.

The attack coincides with the third anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition's armed intervention in Yemen. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since March 2015, when the Riyadh-led coalition of Sunni Muslim Arab states launched a military campaign to reinstate the ousted Saudi-backed president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power.