The missile was fired from northern Yemen toward the city of Khamis Mushayt, in southwestern Saudi Arabia, and was intercepted by two Saudi Patriot missiles, the statement said. The city is near a Saudi Air Force base.

Saudi Arabia and forces loyal to the Houthis have traded sporadic fire across the border since late March, when an Arab coalition led by the Saudis began a military offensive to force the Houthis to retreat from Sana, the capital, and other cities in Yemen. The Scud launching, confirmed in a statement by Houthi news outlets, was part of a pattern of escalating violence across the frontier in recent weeks that has raised fears that the war is expanding, even as diplomats intensify their efforts to convene negotiations between the combatants…

The sudden appearance of the Scuds undermined repeated claims by the Saudis that they had destroyed the Houthis’ stocks of heavy and ballistic weapons with hundreds of airstrikes targeting military bases and weapons stores. And it raised new questions about the effectiveness of the open-ended Saudi offensive, which has failed to achieve its stated goals over the course of a war that has killed more than 2,000 people.