As many 200 arrests were made in Birmingham after many shops were looted by local gangs [EPA]

Gunshots were fired at unarmed officers and a police helicopter during disturbances earlier this month in the British city of Birmingham, police said.

Video footage released by West Midlands Police on Saturday showed masked men firing 11 shots during riots on August 9.

Chief Constable Chris Sims called it "a concerted and organised attempt to kill or injure police officers.''

Police also said they had arrested an eighth suspect over the deaths of three men run down by a car in Birmingham as they protected shops from looters.

A 33-year-old man was arrested on Friday and later released on bail. A 28-year-old man was detained on Saturday.

Four people have already been charged with murdering Haroon Jahan, 20, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31.

The three men died on the second day of the riots after being hit by a car in the Winson Green area of Birmingham

More than 1,300 people have been charged over the riots that flared in London and other English cities for four nights.