A serving British soldier has been killed after a base hosting US and UK troops in Iraq was hit by a rocket attack.

At least 12 people were injured in the attack on the Taji military camp, north of Baghdad.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement that the British soldier who was killed was a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

“The service person’s family have been informed and have requested a period of privacy before further details are released,” the statement said.

A statement also confirmed that numerous rockets had struck the base and three coalition personnel had been killed.

In an earlier tweet, a spokesman for the coalition said the attack happened at 19:35 local time (16:35 GMT) on Wednesday. He added that an investigation had been launched.

The attack comes after a tense period in the region since the US killed senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in January and a retaliatory Iranian strike on al-Asad – another base hosting US troops – on 8 January left more than 100 soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

However, both Iran and the US appeared then to want to draw a line under the matter and there have been no major confrontations since.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace called the attack a “cowardly and retrograde act”.

“The foreign secretary has spoken to the US secretary of state and we will continue to liaise with our international partners to fully understand the details of this abhorrent attack,” he said.