Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement carried out a “large-scale attack” deep in Saudi Arabia, the movement’s Al Masirah television said on Tuesday, without elaborating.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that the Saudi-led coalition battling the group for five years said it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Tuesday.

A witness in Riyadh heard two loud blasts and saw billows of smoke in the sky over the city close to dawn.

Violence between the two sides has surged after the expiry last month of a six-week ceasefire prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, with the Houthis launching missiles and drones towards Saudi cities and the coalition responding with airstrikes.

Al Masirah said the Houthi’s military spokesman would make an announcement in the next few hours.