The Yemeni Police defused a 4-kg explosive device at the cabinet presidency on Tuesday, shortly after the defense minister escaped a car bomb that killed 12 people including 7 of his bodyguards, security officials said.
"The explosive device was spotted at the main gate of the cabinet inside a medium-sized shopping bag," the sources said.
Interior minister, Abdulqadir Qahtan, said President ,Abdrabu Mansour Hadi , has formed a panel to investigate the car bomb to find out whether some concerned authorities were neglectful.
In his comments to Yemen TV following the explosion , Qahtan said defense minister, Muhammad Nasser Ahmed, survived the assassination attempt while his convoy was leaving the weekly meeting of the cabinet.
12 people including seven of the minister's bodyguards were killed and 12 others injured, some in critical condition, he said, adding some cars and houses were also affected.
The attack came a day after an airstrike killed AQAP's second-in-command, Saudi Saeed Al-Shehri.
Al-Shehri was targeted along with six other Al-Qaeda militants including leaders in the eastern Hadramout province at a time when Yemen is continuing a massive hunt for terrorists across the republic.
Tens of militants including senior leaders and dangerous cells have been arrested in the past few months after the army drove Al-Qaeda out of its strongholds in Abyan and Shabwa provinces.
The Yemeni forces are receiving direct support from the US whose drones have contributed to the killing of key leaders and other militants in southern and southeastern regions.
In recent months, the security situation has alarmingly deteriorated in Yemeni cities including the capital Sanaa where Al-Qaeda has carried out the deadliest ever attacks against military and security targets.