ISTANBUL

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Sunday it had shot down an explosive-laden drone fired by Houthi rebels towards Saudi Arabia.

A coalition statement cited by the official Saudi news agency SPA said the drone was intercepted and destroyed before reaching the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait.

The coalition accused the Houthis of continuing to target civilian targets, saying it has taken “operational measures to protect civilians and civilian facilities from rebel assaults”.

Rebel spokesman Yahya Saree, for his part, said the drone attack targeted the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait.

The rebel group, backed by Iran, regularly announces rocket and drone attacks on Saudi territories, saying they are a reaction to the Saudi-led coalition’s assault on Yemen.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict has claimed more than 233,000 lives.

*Ahmed Asmar in Ankara contributed to this report