At least two people were killed and four others wounded when the sixth car bomb in the day went off near a police station in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, an Interior Ministry source said.

"A car bomb parking near the Rashad police station in the Mashtal neighborhood detonated at about 4:00 p.m. (1300 GMT)," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attack damaged several civilian cars and a nearby building, the source added.

Earlier in the day, five car bombs, including a triple car bomb attack, have rocked the capital area, killing a total of 17 people and wounding 47 others.

A new wave of violence raged across the capital during the past 48 hours in the wake of an announcement by the Iraqi authorities and U.S. forces on Monday that they were going to carry out a new security plan in Baghdad to crack down on illegal militants from all sectors.

According to a newly issued UN report, a total of 34,452 Iraqi civilians were killed in the year of 2006.

U.S. President George W. Bush announced earlier this month a new Iraqi strategy, which includes sending an extra 21,500 American soldiers to Iraq, most of them to capital of Baghdad, to beef up security in the country.

Source: Xinhua