Sana'a, Yemen- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Wednesday that Shiite rebels in the restive province of Saada should respect the ceasefire reached with the army earlier this month or they would face a new military campaign.

"The war in Saada has ended, and we hope that group would abide by the ceasefire and leave mountains," Saleh said in a speech during a ceremony for university graduates in Sanaa.

"Otherwise, we have a new way (to deal with them), not like the ways we used to apply in the past weeks and months," Saleh said, without giving further details.

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.

Sana'a - Al-Qaeda was behind Friday's car bomb attack on a police compound in south-eastern Yemen, a local official said Saturday.

A suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden car into the compound in Sayoun city of Hadharmout province, 900 kilometres south-east of Sana'a, killing himself and a policeman and injuring 18 others including seven women.

"All evidence gathered by the investigation team shows the involvement of al-Qaeda organisation," Hadhramout Governor Ahmed Salem al-Khanbashi said in a statement posted on the defence ministry's website.

Sana'a, Yemen  - A state security court in Sana'a imposed a media gag order Monday in the trial of three opposition leaders charged with stirring up violent protests in southern Yemen earlier this year.

Presiding judge Muhssien Alwan issued the order at the start of the second hearing into the case, saying that the gag order applied to both local and foreign media.

Police officers guarding the court's gate prevented journalists from entering even before the judge issued the ban. When the highly publicized trial began on May 28, journalists were allowed into the courtroom.

Hassan Baoum, Yahya al-Shouaibi and Ali al-Gharib, all senior members of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party, are charged with instigating civil disorder.