US base attacked in Iraq

Mortar rounds hit a US Air Force base north of Baghdad today, destroying one helicopter and damaging nine others, police said.

The attack at Taji, a major Air Force on the northern outskirts of Baghdad, occurred about 2am local time, the police said.

In a brief statement, the US military said: "There was an indirect fire attack on the base at Taji which resulted in damage to some aircraft."

Indirect fire is a term the military generally uses to describe rocket or mortar attacks.

An Iraqi civilian who works at the base said he saw about 16 damaged helicopters, some of them set on fire by the mortar attack.

Many US Black Hawk helicopters are based at Taji, including some equipped with medical equipment and manned by medics to rescue wounded US and Iraqi soldiers in the Baghdad area.

Sunni insurgents have long been active in the area around Taji.