SAMAWAH, Iraq (Kyodo) A rocket landed Thursday near the Al-Muthanna provincial government building in central Samawah, southern Iraq, where hundreds of ground troops are stationed in a noncombat reconstruction mission, local police said.

There were no injuries, they added.

Police are investigating damage caused by the apparent attack, cordoning off the area around the provincial government building, which houses a joint operation room of Iraqi police and multinational forces.

Earlier in the day, a large-scale demonstration was staged in Samawah to protest Wednesday's attacks on Sunni mosques in Samarra, central Iraq.

More than 130 people, including dozens who joined a demonstration against sectarian violence, were killed across Iraq despite calls for calm Thursday from leaders fearful of civil war, Reuters news service reported.