Sixteen Islamic State fighters were accidentally taken off the battlefield last week by one of their own after an explosive belt malfunction killed them and wounded another 16 terrorists.
The ISIS fighters had been meeting in the village of al-Mahaws, approximately 34 miles southwest of Kirkuk, Iraq, Al-Masdar News reported, citing Iraqi media. The jihadists were planning an attack on Iraqi Security Forces when a defective explosive belt blew up.
Senior ISIS officials were present at the meeting, some of whom were among the dead.
This type of incident is not a first for the terror group, the Daily Mail noted.
And it is not the first time this year that they have managed to accidentally take out their own troops, with around a dozen extremists being killed in eastern Afghanistan in March when they accidentally set off a bomb that they were trying to plant.
The explosion near Kirkuk came as an all-female ISIS cell in Morocco was arrested by police for attempting to make explosive vests. The ten women were planning to attack "vital installations," according to the Daily Mail.
ISIS has lost territory in several parts of Iraq in recent months, although approximately six million individuals still live in ISIS-controlled areas, according to IHS Conflict Monitor analysts. The Iraqi Security Forces are currently planning an offensive against ISIS to retake the city of Mosul, the country’s second largest city, in an operation some expect to be a costly and bloody battle for both sides.