Smoke rises after airstrikes by US-led coalition warplanes as Iraqi security forces advance their positions in the southern neighborhoods of Fallujah to retake the city from ISIS militants, , Iraq, Monday, June 14, 2016.

At least 20 Sunni tribal fighters were killed in an air strike south of Mosul early on Wednesday when they were mistaken for ISIS militants, Iraqi police said.

Whether the aircraft that carried out the attack belonged to the Iraqi air force or the US-led coalition could not be determined.

A coalition official, Canadian Brigadier General D.J. Anderson, said in a news briefing on Wednesday that coalition planes conducted air strikes just after midnight on Wednesday on forces firing on Iraqi security forces near the town of Kharaib Jabr, south of Mosul.

“We are aware of the alleged reports that coalition forces mistakenly fired on Sunni tribal fighters,” Anderson said. “We are looking into this to determine the facts that surround the case.”

Both coalition and Iraqi forces are investigating the incident, Anderson said.

Local police and a tribal leader said the attack occurred around 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Tuesday) near Qayyara.

Qayyara is located 60 km (about 40 miles) south of Mosul, ISIS stronghold in northern Iraq.

Iraqi forces dislodged the militants from the town in August with support from the coalition, which plans to use a nearby airfield as hub to support the offensive on Mosul that could start this month, according to local commanders.

[vuukle]

Related articles across the web

• Apocalyptic Scenes as Fleeing ISIS Fighters Bomb Iraqi Town's Oil Pipelines
• Coalition Planes Destroy ISIS Chemical Factory Near Mosul
• ISIS To Lash Anyone Caught With Leaflets Dropped By Iraqi Air Force...
• Iraq put out fire at four oil wells in freed town
• Mosul residents in possession of warning leaflets to be whipped by ISIS
• Oil fires cast black cloud over Iraqi town retaken from Islamic State militants
• US, Iraqi troops close in on last ISIS-held city
• US troops close on last ISIS-held city
• Iraq's Qayyara oil fields won't return to production before Mosul retaken - spokesman
• US, Iraqi troops close in on last ISIS-held city