Saudi Shoots Down Yemeni Scud Missile

Saudi Arabia has used patriot missile system to intercept a Scud missile, which was fired by rebel forces in Yemen on Saturday.

The country's official news agency reported that the Scud was fired on Saturday morning at the city of Khamees Mushait in the kingdom's southwest and was intercepted by two Patriot missiles. The missile was fired from south of the Huthi rebel bastion of Saada in Yemen's northern mountains.

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

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the US Army and several allied nations. Apart from Saudi Arabia, Patriot systems have been sold to Taiwan, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Spain.

The Patriot system has four major operational functions like communications, command and control, radar surveillance, and missile guidance. The four functions combine to provide a coordinated, secure, integrated and mobile air defense system.

Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to other countries, mainly for third world countries.