London. British fighter planes will be deployed to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against increasing attacks from Houthi rebels, the UK government announced on Tuesday.

"The UK will fly defensive counter-air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets," the defence ministry said in a statement. 

Saudi forces on Tuesday said they had intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at the kingdom's capital, after authorities issued a danger warning.

The kingdom "intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh", said Turki Al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition backing Yemen's government in its war against the Houthis.

Riyadh was shaken by two blasts, according to AFP journalists in the capital.

"A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Riyadh City to alert for a potential danger," the Saudi civil defence said in a statement on X.

But the alert was lifted a few minutes later, with the civil defence saying "the danger has passed".

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have reached an unprecedented scale, forcing the postponement of a major investment conference in a blow to Riyadh's hopes of attracting greater foreign capital and diversifying its economy.

The deadly attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis have forced Riyadh airport to shut.

The Saudi air force has been regularly targeting the group in retaliation amid fighting inside Yemen between the Houthis and the country's Riyadh-backed government.

In July, a fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen's capital Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.

Later, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory, and oil facilities, before uprooting Yemeni government forces from positions along the Red Sea coastline in a lightning campaign in September.
 

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