Houthi rebels in Yemen fire a Scud ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia. Reuters.

A Scud Missile. Wikipedia creative commons. 

Houthi rebels in Yemen have fired a Scud ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia. Reuters. The long range missile was intercepted by Saudi Patriot Missile batteries as it neared the Prince Khalid airbase. No injuries or deaths were reported. The use of ballistic missiles is a major escalation for the war, which has raged for the last two months. Saudi Arabia had previously claimed that they had destroyed all strategic weapons in the hands of the Houthis in its months long air campaign. It is important to note that though the Scud missile launchers have the capability of launching chemical or nuclear warheads, no such warheads are available in Yemen. This was a conventional missile attack. The missile launch comes on the heels of a major ground battle at the Saudi/Yemeni border. Houthi rebels and troops loyal to former president Sahleh attacked border posts but were repeld by Saudi ground forces and helicopters. Both attacks come shortly after both the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels have agreed to peace talks. 

My Comment:

This is a huge deal. Any time a ballistic missile is launched it is a major concern, just because they are capable of carrying nuclear and chemical warheads. Obviously, no such weapons were deployed in this attack, and the Houthis don't have that capabilities. But when a ballistic missile is incoming impossible doesn't matter that much. You have to treat it like it is a huge threat. The threat was so big back during the first Gulf War, it almost drew the Israelis into the war. 

Of course even with a conventional warhead, the Scud is a devastating weapon. Scuds are loaded with around 1000 kg of explosives and pack a heavy punch when they aren't intercepted. Much like the V-2 rockets of World War II, they are terror weapons. They aren't accurate enough to reliably hit anything but if they do manage to hit their targets they will most likely destroy it. 

The mobility of these launchers is probably the reason that the Saudis missed this launcher. As you may remember from the Gulf War when Saddam Hussein was launching Scuds at Israel, it is very hard to track down these launchers. Many sorties during the Gulf War came up empty, and I am guessing that is what is happening now. After all, a main goal of Saudi Arabia is the destruction of any ballistic missiles. It appears some have slipped through the cracks. 

The land battle is significant as well. It's clear that the Houthis are playing to win. Attacking Saudi Arabia sends them a clear message. The Houthis are still in control of much of Yemen and are still willing to fight for it. Yes, their sponsor, Iran hasn't been able to resupply them, but that doesn't mean they are defeated. 

There is a chance that this alone will be enough to derail the peace talks. After all, the Saudis may put pressure on the Yemeni loyalists to stick it out and fight because of these attacks. Will it happen? Possibly, but I think the Saudis want this war to end as well. But these attack greatly strengthens the Houthis position at the bargaining table. After all, being able to hit your enemy with ballistic missiles and being able to attack their border outposts isn't going to lead to your position being weaker. 

Of course the real question is whether this is a one off attack or the start of something more frequent. I'm not sure how many Scuds the Houthis control. The only number I have been able to find was 300, but that was for the whole country. And it didn't say if that was just the launchers or the missiles themselves. My guess is that the Houthis probably do have a few more of these missiles and if they aren't destroyed they will use them. Saudi Arabia's Patriot Missile batteries should be able to take most of them out but there is always a chance that they miss and one of these missiles does serious damage to a base or city...