(BSS/AFP) - The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen`s Houthis said on Thursday it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the group at the kingdom`s eastern region.

"Air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Eastern Province," coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X.

Saudi Arabia has this month come under sustained attack from the Iran-backed Houthis, including a strike on Riyadh`s international airport that was the kingdom`s deadliest in years.

The Houthis said this week they had targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in the oil-rich Eastern Province with a ballistic missile.

Tehran has denied having anything to do with attacks by the Houthis after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of having encouraged the group`s escalation against the kingdom.

Following an uneasy four-year truce, fighting reignited in Yemen in July, months into the US-Iran conflict that has plunged the wider region into crisis.