Baghdad - An Iraqi oil ministry under-secretary, Saheb Salman Qotb, was injured on Monday in a blast in front of house in northern Baghdad, police sources said.

One of his security guards was also injured in the attack, the source told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Separately, six people were killed and more than 20 were injured including 10 policemen, in two consecutive bomb attacks in the downtown al-Hurriyat Square in Baghdad, VOI reported.

In the restive Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, a group of al-Qaeda suspects killed three women from the same family after a house raid in al-Saadiya district, VOI reported. (dpa)