A Japanese diplomat has been wounded in a failed kidnap attempt by armed men in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, BBC News reported.

The second secretary at the embassy was stabbed several times by unknown men and is in a stable condition in hospital, embassy officials say.

The diplomat was resisting a kidnap attempt as he tried to get into his car, Japan's foreign ministry said, without releasing the man's name.

Attacks on foreigners in Yemen have intensified in the past few months. Earlier this month, 52 people were killed in an attack on Yemen's defence ministry that was later claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Yemen has been plagued by instability since its long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh handed over power after a popular uprising in 2011.