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Iraqi officials say an explosion has ripped through the parking lot of a Baghdad police station when a police bomb squad tried to defuse a car bomb while colleagues looked on, killing six and wounding 10.

Police and hospital officials say the blast took place in southeast Baghdad on Friday, a day after police in the area towed a suspicious car to the police station.

The six killed were three bomb squad members and three policemen.

Baghdad has for years seen near daily attacks targeting civilians and security forces by car bombs, suicide attacks and roadside explosions. The attacks are mostly blamed on Sunni militants.

The latest attack comes as anti-corruption protesters prepare to take to the streets of Baghdad, where powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called on his followers to take part in the demonstration, the first major figure to openly do so.