World Bulletin / News Desk

Seven fighters from the self-proclaimed 'Islamic State' were among 21 killed in fighting between rebels and joint Kurdish and Iraqi government forces on Monday.

Iraq’s defense ministry said IS attacked Kurdish peshmerga forces at a checkpoint in Diyala province, resulting in one peshmerga fatality and three dead IS fighters. The ministry said army helicopters were supporting peshmerga fighters on the ground.

In a separate incident, 10 people were killed when Iraqi helicopters hit a tribal meeting in the Sharqat district of Salahudin province. A leader of the influential Cuburi tribe was among the fatalities, Khalid Muhammed al-Cuburi said.

The air strike was confirmed by hospital sources and reports said the helicopter had mistakenly targeted the site although the army did not offer immediate comment.

Meanwhile, Yazidi activist Hayri Seydu told the Anadolu Agency on Monday that IS had released nearly 300 Yazidis, mostly women and children.