A ballistic missile fired by Yemeni rebels was shot down late Thursday close to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, a month before the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest site, the Arab military coalition fighting in Yemen said.

“The missile was intercepted 69 kilometers south of the city in western Saudi Arabia, the coalition said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, calling it “a desperate attempt by Houthi rebels to disrupt Hajj", which begins at the end of August.

Thursday’s missile attack was reportedly the second to be aimed at Mecca.  On October 27, 2016, a Houthi missile launched from Yemen toward the holy city was also shot down by Saudi air defense forces before it could reach the holy city, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the rebels insisted the missile had been fired at Jeddah, the Red Sea city in the sprawling Mecca region, not at the holy city itself, according to Al-Jazeera.

Occasional ballistic missile attacks, as well as more frequent short-range rocket fire over the southern border, have in the past been conducted after coalition air strikes against the rebels in Yemen.

The Houthi rebels and their allies, former members of Yemen's security forces linked to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, began retaliatory attacks against the kingdom two years ago.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the country in March 2015 to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.