SANAA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior Yemeni security officer died of his wounds on Friday after being seriously injured on Thursday in an al-Qaida ambush in the northeast province of Marib, home of Yemen's major location of oil facilities, the Defense Ministry said.

On Thursday, a local police official told Xinhua that Colonel Mohammed Faree, deputy director of the criminal investigation unit in Marib, was badly wounded when al-Qaida gunmen opened a hail of bullets on his vehicle.

Colonel Faree was then taken to the hospital while security forces were searching in the area for the militants, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Yemen has witnessed a growing active role of the al-Qaida regional wing in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in south and east of the country since the beginning of this year.

Neighboring top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and the United States have paid more attention to Yemen's security affairs after the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing claimed that it was behind a failed attempt to destroy a U.S. passenger plane bound for Detroit in December last year.