Baghdad - Six Iraqis were wounded Saturday in a bomb blast that targeted a police patrol vehicle in Baghdad, police said.

Three patrolmen were among the injured in the explosion in the capital's southeastern al-Zafaraniya district, a police source told Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Meanwhile, three al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders were arrested during a security operation near Baquba city, according to a local police chief.

Iraqi police conducted a security operation that targeted strongholds of the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq" in al-Azeem area 15 kilometres north of Baquba, the source told VOI.

Eleven persons were arrested during the raid, including the three leading figures, the source said.

The self-styled Islamic State of Iraq is an armed organization set up in October 2006, and includes al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Omar al-Boghdadi. (dpa)