Updated

Saudi forces say they have intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Shiite rebels, directed at the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

Saudi state-run TV channel al-Ekhbariya reported the news on Wednesday as residents of the capital posted on social media their accounts of hearing a loud explosion and seeing smoke in the sky.

The rebels in neighboring Yemen, known as Houths, have launched missiles at Riyadh in recent months, and dozens have been fired at southern Saudi cities that border Yemen.

A missile fragment last month killed an Egyptian resident of Riyadh — the first death reported in the capital as a result of the Houthi missile strikes.

The kingdom has been at war in Yemen for more than three years. More than 10,000 Yemenis have died in the conflict.