Police defused a bomb near the house of a provincial governor in south-western Yemen on Monday, a security source said, dpa reported.
An explosive device containing 16 kilogrammes of TNT was placed near the home of Hamoud al-Soufi the governor of Taiz, 252 kilometres south-west of the capital Sana'a, the source told the German Press Agency dpa.
It was attached to a mobile phone to be remotely detonated.
The Defence Ministry said on its website that al-Qaeda was likely behind the bombing attempt.
Yemen has in recent months stepped up its crackdown on al-Qaeda militants in areas in the south and east of the country, where the group enjoys the protection of tribes.