Tribal commander Nazhan al-Sakhr al-Lahibi told Anadolu Agency the fighters were killed after they were mistakenly hit by coalition planes in the Kharaeb Jabr village, south of Mosul. 

There was no comment from the U.S.-led coalition on the claim. 

Al-Lahibi said ISIL militants had launched an overnight attack on the village. 

“Tribal fighters, however, had managed to kill four militants,” he said. 

In mid-2014, ISIL captured Mosul, along with vast swathes of territory in the country’s northern and western regions.  

Recent months have seen the Iraqi army -- backed by a 60-nation coalition led by the U.S. -- retake much territory, especially in the western Anbar province. Nevertheless, ISIL remains in control of several parts of the country, includingMosul.  

Iraqi troops and Kurdish peshmerga fighters have recently captured a number of areas on the outskirts of Mosul, which Iraqi officials have vowed to recapture by year’s end.