At least one person was killed and several wounded Sunday as the US coalition headquarters in Baghdad came under rocket attack, in another act of violence that pushed Iraq into its second year of occupation.
After two US soldiers were killed in a similar strike further north overnight, a police officer also died and two were wounded when an explosive device was detonated as they were leaving the police station where they worked.
At the coalition compound, buildings shook and people ran for cover after rockets exploded in and around the so-called Green Zone.
"Three 127mm rockets impacted, but it is possible that more may have been fired," a military spokesman said.
One hit a traffic circle near the Mansur neighbourhood close to the heavily-guarded compound, a second fell nearby and a third landed in Freedom Rest, a recreation area inside for US troops, a military spokeswoman said.
Most damage was caused at the intersection.
"We have (military) reports that one US soldier received minor injuries, while sadly two Iraqis were killed and five injured," she added.
Hospital officials gave a different toll.
"One person was killed and 11 people injured, two of whom are in a serious condition," said Mohammad Luzai, head of the emergency ward at Yarmuk hospital.
A bus and several cars were also damaged by shrapnel.
"The Green Zone is a known target... They (attackers) understand they are not going to get a tremendous amount of casualties. They are trying to create terror," a senior military official said.
In an attack overnight, two US soldiers were killed and seven wounded by a rocket fired near the restive city of Fallujah, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, a military official said.
Added to an official Pentagon tally, the latest deaths raise to 280 the number of US soldiers killed in action since US President George W. Bush declared major hostilities in Iraq over on May 1.
In the nearby hotspot of Baquba, an Iraqi policeman was killed Sunday and two others wounded when an explosive charge blew up near the town.
"We were heading out of the police station after the end of our night shift this morning, when our car was targeted by an explosion," Sadek Mohammed, a 23-year-old police officer in Al-Khales town, told AFP.
"Police officer Firas Ali, 30, was killed and another colleague, Ayad Sabah, 32, was injured," said Mohammed, who was taken to hospital with injuries.