Saudi air defences intercepted a "ballistic missile" fired by Yemeni rebels at the kingdom's southern coastal city of Jizan, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels said.

It was the latest in a series of such attacks.

"Saudi air defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi militias targeting Jizan," the coalition said in a statement.

The Huthis, in a statement on their news outlet Al-Masirah, claimed that they fired a "Badr 1" ballistic missile and said it struck Jizan Regional Airport.

AFP was unable to reach the airport for comment, but open-source flight information appeared to show flights arriving and departing on time.

Saudi Arabia has since March 2015 led a coalition of Arab states fighting to roll back the Houthi rebels in Yemen and restore its neighbour's internationally-recognised government to power.

In March, an Egyptian labourer became the first known fatality in a rebel missile attack on the Saudi capital.

Saudi Arabia accuses its rival Iran of smuggling missiles to the Houthis -- a charge Tehran denies.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.