Thick smoke seen near Riyadh airport as Houthis claim attack on Saudi capital

Authorities issued warnings for city in first such alerts for Riyadh since fighting with Iran-backed Houthis escalated in July

Yemen's Houthis said they attacked sensitive" sites in the Saudi capital with missiles and drones, hours after flames and a large plume of black smoke were seen rising above Riyadh airport on Saturday.

The Saudi government sent air raid alerts to citizens by phone overnight warning of aerial attacks, marking the first time the government has issued such alerts for Riyadh since fighting with the Iran-backed Houthis escalated in July.