Saudi state television stated early Monday that the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen had discovered an imminent threat to navigation and global trade south of the Red Sea.

The alliance added that it had observed hostile movements and activity by Yemeni Houthi fighters utilizing explosive-laden boats. Without going into detail, it stated that measures were being taken to neutralize the threat and ensure freedom of navigation.

The organization, which Iran backs, has routinely targeted foreign commerce using explosive-rigged speedboats and drones, and rockets.

In October, the coalition announced that it had destroyed multiple vessels rigged with explosives in preparation for attacks on commercial cargo.

The US and other international powers have repeatedly expressed growing concern about the Houthi tactic, noting that a significant portion of the world's energy supplies and a substantial amount of trade pass through Bab Al Mandeb between Yemen and Djibouti on their way to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.

According to state media, the coalition's air defenses destroyed a drone targeting Najran airport in southern Saudi Arabia.

Saudi state television stated that debris from the wrecked drone, launched from Yemen's Sanaa airport, was spread in a residential area, but no injuries were reported.

On Sunday, coalition jets carried out significant airstrikes on nearly a dozen Houthi sites in the vicinity of Sanaa.

It was the latest in a series of virtually daily drone attacks against the monarchy by Houthi rebels.