2 bombs kill 6, including policemen

? A car bomb exploded outside a Baghdad police station Sunday in the deadlier of a pair of attacks that killed six people in the Iraqi capital, security and hospital officials said.

A suicide attacker drove the bomb-rigged car up to a gate protecting the police post in western Baghdad’s al-Amil neighborhood during an early morning shift change when officers were gathered outside its blast walls.

The blast killed four police officers and one civilian, and wounded 15 people, according to emergency security and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Though violence has declined dramatically from just a few years ago, when the country teetered on the brink of civil war, attacks around the capital continue. The violence is a serious challenge for Iraq’s police and military forces as U.S. troops prepare to withdraw.

Adding to the sense of instability, Iraq’s political leaders are still wrangling over who will control the next government three months after a parliamentary election.