Baghdad  - Six people were killed, including two policemen, and three injured in two separate attacks in Iraq on Wednesday, according to the government.

Four civilians were killed when an explosive device went off near their vehicle in the the Iraqi southern city of Karbala, a government source said.

Security forces cordoned off the scene and started a search operation to find those behind the attack, the source was quoted by Yaqen. net as saying.

In the north, two policemen were killed and three others injured when a bomb targeting their patrol exploded on the Kirkuk-Daquq road in the early hours of Wednesday.

The injured were transported to Kirkuk's general hospital.

Oil-rich Kirkuk, home to Kurds, Turkmen, Christians and Arabs, lies 250 kilometres north of the capital Baghdad.(dpa)