Saudi Arabia shoots down Scud missile fired from Yemen
Ukrainian servicemen guard their position in Marinka. Fighting in Ukraine ramped up last week, just days before the Group of Seven summit, and is likely to dominate discussion as leaders of the seven major industrialized nations meet today and Monday.
Associated Press
Saudi Arabia said it shot down a Scud missile fired by Yemen’s Shiite rebels and their allies early Saturday at a Saudi city that is home to a large air base, marking a major escalation in the war.
Two missiles launched from a Patriot missile battery shot down the Scud around 2:45 a.m. Saturday local time around the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
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 began in March.
Khamis Mushait is home to the King Khalid Air Base, the largest such facility in that part of the country. Saudis on social media reported hearing air raid sirens go off around the city during the attack.
The agency blamed Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies in forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemen’s state news agency SABA, now controlled by the Houthis, said the rebels and their allies fired the Scud.
Saudi Arabia leads a coalition targeting the rebels in airstrikes that began March 26 in support of the country’s exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Those strikes have targeted arms caches and Scud missile sites around the country.
The coalition responded to Saturday’s attack by targeting and damaging the launcher, which was located south of the Houthi stronghold of Saada, according to the news agency. Yemeni security officials said coalition planes launched at least six airstrikes early Saturday against a Houthi convoy heading toward Saada. Airstrikes also hit a convoy in Amran province, which Houthi and tribal officials said was transporting livestock. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to brief journalists.
The United States has provided logistical support to the mostly Arab coalition.