Yemeni rebel missile shot down near Mecca: Arab coalition

A ballistic missile fired by Yemeni rebels was shot down late Thursday close to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, just 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 kilometres (43 miles) south of the holy site situated in western Saudi Arabia, the coalition said in a statement, calling it "a desperate attempt by Shiite Huthi rebels to disrupt Hajj", which begins at the end of August.
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