British troops clashed with demonstrators outside the offices of a religious organisation in the southern Iraqi city of Basra today.
A squad of British soldiers using riot shields and wielding batons to tried to control the crowd of about 80 throwing stones and swinging iron bars at troops.
One protester tried to snatch a rifle from a British soldier and was quickly beaten to the ground by other troops. At least four armoured British Land Rovers were at the scene.
Witnesses said one protester was wounded in the head by a rubber baton round and taken to hospital. Other reports say a photographer covering the events for the AP news agency was shot in the leg by troops.
The clashes took place in front of the office of the God's Revenge Islamic Organisation, a militant Shia Muslim group that is accused by some Iraqis of involvement in attacks against Sunnis and members of the former Ba'ath party regime.
It is not immediately clear what provoked the protests but locals said British forces had met with resistance after trying to force members of the God's Revenge Islamic Organisation out of their building.