A picture taken on November 16, 2015 shows a Saudi air traffic controller sitting in the control tower at the Khamis Mushayt military airbase, some 880 km from the capital Riyadh, as the Saudi army conducts operations over Yemen. (FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP)

DUBAI - Saudi Arabian air defenses late on Saturday destroyed six armed drones launched by Yemen's Houthi movement towards the kingdom, bringing the total it intercepted during the day to 17, state TV cited the Saudi-led coalition as saying.

The Houthi military spokesman had said earlier in the day on Twitter that one drone was launched at a military base in Khamis Mushait.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have frequently targeted Khamis Mushait and other Saudi cities along the frontier in the more than six-year-old Yemen war

The coalition said two further drones were fired at Khamis Mushait while eight drones were fired towards the south of the kingdom, one of which was aimed towards the city of Najran, according to state TV. All of these were intercepted.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have frequently targeted Khamis Mushait and other Saudi cities along the frontier in the more than six-year-old Yemen war.

READ MORE: Saudi-led coalition destroys Houthi rigged boats, drones

A military coalition led by Riyadh intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government from the capital Sanaa.