Black smoke, flames seen near Riyadh airport: residents to AFP

Two residents of the Saudi capital saw black smoke and flames emanating from an area near Riyadh's international airport on Saturday, while other people in the city reported hearing explosions.

"In the direction of the airport we saw black smoke and fire," one of the residents told AFP.

Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 reported major issues at the Saudi capital's Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, including cancellations and delays.

The airport was listed under the site's maximum disruption index of 5.0, meaning the airport was seeing "major problems with long delays and several cancelled flights".

The disruption follows an overnight air raid alert issued by Saudi authorities, the first since fighting in neighbouring Yemen intensified this month.

Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like another round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital.