3 October 2010 06:52 (UTC+04:00)
A US military airbase has been attacked with a missile in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk as the onslaught on "non-combat" US troops continues, Press TV reported.
A missile was fired on Saturday afternoon from southern Kirkuk in the direction of the US forces' al-Hurria airbase, a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
"Policemen arrived at the scene and removed the launch pad, which turned out to be home-made," he said, adding that it was not clear where the projectile landed.
Seven US soldiers died in September, bringing the death toll for US troops in Iraq to 4,424 since 2003, according to an AFP tally.
US fatalities continue to rise despite a withdrawal of combat forces at the end of August that left nearly 50,000 US troops, which are scheduled to be withdrawn by the end of 2011.
However, the figure does not take into account the hundreds of private security contractors acting as mercenaries in the country.
The remaining US troops are said to be mandated to advise and train Iraqi security forces, although reports indicate that they are still involved in combat operations.