Sana'a, Yemen  - Yemeni police have launched a massive manhunt after 12 suspected al-Qaeda members, including a Saudi, linked to last week's car bomb attack on a police compound that killed a policeman and wounded 18, official sources said Tuesday.

A suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden sedan car into the entrance of the police complex in Sayoun of the south-eastern province of Hadhramout on July 25.

The manhunt is underway in the eastern provinces of Shabwa, Abyan and Marib, where the terrorist al-Qaeda organization has an active presence, the sources said.

They said among the wanted suspects was Saudi national Muhammad bin Nayif al-Qahtani, who is also wanted by Saudi authorities on terrorism charges.

On Sunday, an al-Qaeda wing in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out in retaliation for the killing of five al-Qaeda members by police forces in Yemen.

Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for three recent car bomb attacks in Yemen, including the July 2007 attack on a tourist convoy in the central province of Marib that killed eight Spanish tourists.

In September 2006, two al-Qaeda suicide attackers blew up an explosives-laden pickup in the Safer oil refinery in the neighbouring province of Marib. A simultaneous bombing hit an oil exporting port in Hadhramout, killing a security guard and two suicide attackers.

Hadhramout was the scene of a shooting attack on a convoy of Belgian tourists that left two Belgian women and two Yemeni drivers dead on January 18. Al-Qaeda also claimed responsibility for the attack. (dpa)