A resident watches the white smoke overhead after an explosion of a missile over the sky of Sanaa, Yemen, June 20, 2019. A 12-meter-long ballistic missile went off over the sky of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Thursday morning after the Iran-allied Houthi rebels failed to launch it, residents said. (Xinhua/Mohamed al-Azaki)
SANAA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A 12-meter-long ballistic missile went off over the sky of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Thursday morning after the Iran-allied Houthi rebels failed to launch it, residents said.
The missile was fired from a mountain in the western part of Sanaa and twisted in various directions before it exploded with powerful sound, the residents witnessed.
"The missile was heading toward the north," said one of the residents, who asked not to be named.
White smoke with long tail could be seen over the sky of Sanaa for about half an hour after its explosion.
There were no reports of casualties. Houthi officials declined to comment.
The accident came hours after the Houthis said they fired a cruise missile at a power plant in the Saudi Arabia's border city of Jizan. The kingdom has made no comment yet on the alleged attack.
The Houthis' attacks against Saudi civilian sites have witnessed an increase in frequency and intensity in recent weeks.
Last week, 26 people were injured in a projectile attack that targeted Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition to fight in Yemen for more than four years in support of the exiled Yemeni government against the Houthis.
