Saudi Arabia said its air defences intercepted four missiles targeting the capital Riyadh and other parts of the kingdom early on Sunday, in the latest escalation of the conflict spilling over from Yemen. Falling debris from one of the interceptions damaged a building belonging to the state oil company Aramco in Riyadh's financial district, although no casualties were reported.

The Saudi-led coalition said its air defences had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles, and accused Yemen's Houthi rebels of launching the ballistic missiles. Witnesses in Riyadh told reporters they heard a loud explosion on Sunday morning and described damage across several floors of the Aramco building in the King Abdullah Financial District, including shattered exterior glass.

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said the attempted attack had resulted in falling shrapnel that caused minor damage to the building, and confirmed there were no casualties. Aramco and the Saudi Center for International Communication did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the Associated Press.

Houthis claimed six attacks on Saturday

The intercepts came hours after Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility for six military operations against Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the operations had targeted King Khalid International Airport, Aramco oil facilities in Riyadh and Khurais, a National Guard camp in Najran, and other military and energy infrastructure, using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.

Saree said the strikes had hit oil storage tanks and a distillation tower in Riyadh, facilities in Khurais and Pumping Station No. 8 in Dawadmi, and claimed they had achieved their objectives. He also claimed attacks on Saudi troop positions at the Najran camp and in the Al-Jawf and Marib governorates of Yemen. Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm the Houthi claims or the extent of any damage from the Saturday attacks.

The Houthis said the operations were retaliation for Saudi airstrikes on Al-Hadara market in the Al-Wazi'iyah district of Taiz province, which they said had killed and wounded dozens of civilians, and for strikes on homes in the Bani Hashish district. Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense issued an alert warning of a possible threat in Najran on Saturday, before saying about ten minutes later that the danger had passed.

Southern region also targeted

The Saudi-led coalition said it had also intercepted a ballistic missile overnight that was aimed at Saudi Arabia's southern region, which borders Yemen and has repeatedly come under Houthi attack. The latest developments followed Saudi airstrikes on Saturday near Sanaa, the Yemeni capital held by the Houthis.

The exchange underlines how sharply the conflict has escalated in recent days. A years-long truce in Yemen's civil war collapsed over the summer, and fighting has intensified between the Iranian-backed Houthis, who control Sanaa and much of the country's north and west, and their Saudi-backed opponents, based in the south and east.

Regional shipping also remains under strain. The United Arab Emirates said it had rescued 22 crew members after a fire broke out aboard a cargo ship in the Sea of Oman, as risks to commercial shipping stay high amid the wider war in the Middle East.