Saudi Patriot intercepts Houthi ballistic missile

A Patriot missile shot down a Scud fired from the Yemeni capital towards southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition told AFP, the day after another Scud attack.

In the latest incident, debris from the destroyed Scud fell in the kingdom's Jizan border province, causing no injuries, Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri said.

He said militias launched it from inside the Yemeni capital Sanaa, located around 200 km from Jizan - which they seized in late 2014.

The Saudis have deployed Patriots designed to counter tactical ballistic missiles, which have been fired occasionally since March when the Saudi-led coalition began air strikes in support of the Yemeni government after Iran-backed Houthi militias seized much of the neighboring country.

In April last year the Saudi defense ministry said coalition strikes had removed threats to Saudi Arabia’s security "by destroying heavy weaponry and ballistic missiles" seized by the Yemeni militias.

With coalition-backed anti-Houthi forces now 30 to 40 km from Sanaa, the militias are retaliating, Assiri said.

On Monday the coalition said air defenses intercepted a Scud fired at Khamis Mushait, a city near the King Khalid Air Base which is at the forefront of Saudi-led air operations against the Houthi militias and their allies, elite troops loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh.