The GCC states have condemned the launch of a ballistic missile by Yemen’s Houthi militia toward the holy city of Mecca.

The Houthi attack is an “evidence of their refusal to comply with the international community and its decisions”, media reports cited the six-member council as saying in a statement.

The ballistic missile was fired deep into Saudi Arabia on 27 October. The Houthis confirmed the launch into the kingdom in a statement on their official news agency, but said it had been aimed at King Abdulaziz International airport in Jeddah, the busiest airport in the country.

The Saudi-led coalition, however, said it destroyed the missile before it could do any damage, and retaliated against the launch site inside Yemen, according to a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency. The missile was fired from the Saada province toward Mecca, the coalition said.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan took to Twitter after the incident to criticise Iran, which backs the Houthis. “The Iranian regime is supporting a terrorist group that fires its rockets on Mecca. Is this an Islamic regime as it claims?” reports cited a tweet by the minister.

Bahrain also condemned the incident in a statement to Al-Arabiya News Channel. Qatar responded by saying the attack hampers the efforts to resolve the Yemeni crisis peacefully.

The Arab League’s secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the incident represents an unacceptable violation of the sanctity of the holy lands. “This work is a serious escalation committed by the Houthi militias,” he said in a statement.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh since March 2015 to try to restore President Abdrabbu Mansour al-Hadi.