Houthi forces take part in funeral ceremony for Yahya Al-Shami, assistant supreme commander of the Houthi forces, a day after his death due to COVID-19 pandemic, in Yemen's capital Sanaa on April 27, 2021. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)

SANAA - Yemen's Houthi rebels said they had fired two ballistic missiles and four bomb-laden drones at a Saudi civilian airport and a military airbase in southern Saudi Arabia at dawn on Monday.

Cross-border missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis have escalated since February

"The attacks hit military targets in the Najran Airport (in Najran city) and the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait city," Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV.

Both Saudi cities are located near Yemen's northern border.

Meanwhile, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported that "the Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile and three armed drones aimed at Najran," without providing further details.

This has been the second such attack targeting Saudi border cities in nearly 24 hours. The attack on Sunday was foiled, according to Saudi television.

ALSO READ: Yemen's Houthis say attacked Saudi Aramco refineries

Cross-border missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis have escalated since February, when the group began a major offensive against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government army to capture the oil-rich province of Marib in central Yemen.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.