Saudi Arabia Shoots Down Scud Missile Fired From Yemen

Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, chant slogans during a demonstration against an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Houthi leaders, in Sanaa, Yemen. AP Photo/Hani Mohammed

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—In a potentially major escalation of the months-long war, Yemeni rebels fired a Scud missile into Saudi Arabia early Saturday.

The attack suggests that despite more than two months of airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition, Yemen’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, still have the military firepower to threaten cities inside Saudi Arabia.

According to the official Saudi Press Agency, two missiles launched from a Patriot missile battery shot down the Scud before dawn near the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait. The agency did not report any casualties in the attack, the first use of a Cold War-era Scud by the rebels since Saudi-led airstrikes targeting the Houthis began in late March.