SANAA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni Houthi rebels fired several long-range ballistic missiles toward four Saudi international airports on Sunday midnight, said a statement posted on the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency.
One ballistic missile was fired toward King Khaled International Airport north of the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The second missile targeted Abha International Airport in the Saudi southwestern province of Asir.
It added that the third missile was fired toward the International Airport of the southern Saudi province of Jizan, while the fourth missile targeted the regional airport of the Saudi southeastern province of Najran.
"The move came in response to an order from the leader of revolution, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi," the Houthi group said in the statement.
"The missile attacks were also in revenge against Saudi-led coalition for using all weapons in their war against the Yemeni people," they added.
The dominant group also said it fired several other ballistic missiles on several other Saudi targets, but it did not name such targets.
The missile attacks came shortly after Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi gave a televised speech through the group-controlled channels to commemorate the third anniversary of war that pitted his rebel group against the Yemeni internationally recognized government backed by the Saudi-led coalition forces.
In his speech, al-Houthi vowed to step up ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. He also called his supporters to rally on Monday in the capital Sanaa, which is under his group control since late 2014, to show strong against what he said the "enemy."
Meanwhile, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel reported that Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed one of the ballistic missiles over the King Khaled International Airport north of the capital Riyadh.
Saudi activists in the social media reported powerful explosions over the sky of Riyadh. There were no Saudi official reports on casualties yet.
The Sunday midnight attacks were the latest in a series of attacks claimed by the Yemeni Houthi group against the Saudi airports.
On Thursday, the Houthis said they fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Saudi oil giant Aramco. However, Aramco said its plants are operating normally and declined to give further details.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military coalition of Arab forces, backed by the United States, to intervene in Yemen's conflict to back the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The coalition has launched thousands of airstrikes on the Iran-aligned Shiite Houthis, in attempts to roll back rebel gains and reinstate Hadi in the capital Sanaa.
Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Saudi cities, with most of them intercepted by Saudi air defense forces.
The war has so far killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and pushed the Arab country to the brink of mass famine.
