Jeremy Clarkson was shot at four times in one day on Sunday, and the camp where he was staying came under mortar-fire, while he travels on a fact-finding tour of Iraq.
The TV presenter – star of motoring show Top Gear – is visiting the troubled country to research a newspaper article. His journey began on Saturday when the Hercules transport plane he was traveling on on a flight from Basra to Baghdad was shot at with rockets by insurgents south of the capital. The plane was able to take evasive action and to release flares to shake off the attack.
While in the capital the US army Black Hawk helicopter he was traveling in came under fire again. Later in the day, his return flight to Basra also came under attack. Finally, within hours of arriving back at base at the city’s airport the camp came under mortar-fire by, it is believed, Shia tribesmen.
Clarkson, who was not hurt in the incidents, told the Daily Mirror: "I knew this would happen - this sort of thing always happens to me."
One British soldier said: "We've never seen anything like this occur to one person, especially not a civilian." The TV star has been called "Target Practice" by squaddies following the incidents. One joked: "People are saying he's saved lives because the Iraqis have used so much ammo trying to kill him."
Clarkson has said previously that the US invading Iraq after 911 would have resembled the US attacking China after Pearl Harbour, and has regularly questioned the purpose and wisdom of the invasion.