RIYADH, Sept 5, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Saudi authorities said Saturday they had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired from neighbouring Yemen and targeting the Eastern province and Najaran in the south.

"Two ballistic missile attacks were intercepted, along with three booby-trapped drones," the Saudi-led coalition fighting Huthi rebels in Yemen told AFP.

State-run Al-Ekhbariya television also reported the interception, citing the coalition saying it would take "strict measures" to protect civilians.

There were no reports of any casualties, but the attack comes four days after a drone hit Abha international airport in the south, wounding eight people and damaging a civilian plane.

It also comes a few hours before Hans Grundberg, the UN's new envoy for Yemen officially assumes his duties Sunday.

Saudi Arabia intervened in the Yemen war on behalf of the internationally recognised government in 2015, shortly after the Huthis seized Sanaa.

The Iran-allied insurgents have repeatedly targeted the kingdom in cross-border attacks.

In August, the rebels escalated those operations, using drones and missiles.

Yemen's grinding conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, resulting in what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

While the UN is pushing for an end to the war, the Huthis have demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport, closed under a Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.