Four Katyusha rockets were fired at a British base in a southern Iraqi town on Wednesday, a day after British troops fought a gunbattle with militiamen, police said.
Four people were killed in other violence. No casualties were reported from the rockets, three of which landed inside the base in Amarah town while the fourth hit the nearby neighbourhood of Al-Amarat al-Qadmia without exploding, police Capt Hussein Karim said.
An Iraqi police patrol later found four base launcher and a fifth launcher loaded with a rocket in an area near the camp, he added.
Amarah, 290 kms southeast of Baghdad, is a predominantly Shiite city where anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia wields considerable influence.
British troops have come under frequent attacks in the past few months in Amarah.
Troops from the base had fought a pitched gunbattle on Tuesday with unidentified militiamen on the outskirts of Amarah.
The fighting broke out after a British unit arrested eight people including an employee of the Public Integrity Commission.
Two civilians were killed and one injured in the crossfire during the shooting.
Also Wednesday, an army officer was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Amarah.
First Lt Hassanein Saadi al-Zerjawi, 29, was standing near his home when he was shot, Karim said.
{{/usCountry}}First Lt Hassanein Saadi al-Zerjawi, 29, was standing near his home when he was shot, Karim said.
{{/usCountry}}A policeman was shot dead in a similar incident last night in Al-Hay, north of Amarah.