Saudi Arabia says it shot down Scud missile fired by Yemen's Houthis

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a Scud missile fired on its territory by Houthi forces in neighbouring Yemen early Saturday, a major escalation in the two-month conflict that has seen hundreds of Yemenis killed and tens of thousands of displaced.

"The Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces intercepted it with a Patriot missile," said a statement from the Saudi-led coalition that has been waging an air war against the fighters since 26 March.

Coalition aircraft destroyed the launchpad for the 2:45 am attack on the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait that came from the Houthi's bastion in Yemen's northern mountains, said the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The area is home to the largest airforce base in southern Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported, adding that an official Houthi outlet, Al Masira, claimed the launch had targeted the Prince Khaled airbase.

Saudis on social media reported hearing air raid sirens go off around the city during the attack.

The firing of the missile, which has not been confirmed by the Houthis, would represent a major blow to the Arab coalition's campaign a top of priority of which has been to neuter the threat posed by the Shia fighters to the oil rich Kingdom's border.

The Scud launch came a day after rebel allies killed four Saudi troops in cross-border attacks, clouding preparations for UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva on 14 June.

Allies of Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has declared his support for the Houthis, may have provided the missile for the attack, analysts said.

"I believe Saleh and the Houthis definitely have additional Scud arsenal. Most likely a different approach will be taken next by the Saudi's," said Allen Rudek, an Istanbul-based Yemen analyst.

"With the threat of Scuds, Saudi Arabia has to worry about major civilian casualties as well as just being worried about border skirmishes," he said.

The last time a scud missile hit Saudi Arabia was during the 1991 Gulf War when a missile attack launched by Iraq's Saddam Hussein killed 27 American soldiers at a military base in eastern Saudi Arabia.

In April 2015 dozens of people were killed in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, after a Saudi-led airstrike hit an army Scud missile depot, causing a huge explosion.