At least 40 civilians have been killed when Iraqi military aircraft mistakenly struck an area in the country’s troubled western province of Anbar as part of mop-up operations against ISIL Takfiri militants.

A local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iraqi fighter jets pounded two buildings in the town of Rutbah, situated about 428 kilometers (265 miles) west of the capital, Baghdad, on Friday, erroneously leaving 40 civilians dead and tens of others injured, Arabic-language al-Sumaria satellite television network reported.

The source identified the victims as members of five displaced families from al-Karmah town, located about 48 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad, who had taken refuge in the buildings.

Iraqi officials have not yet commented on this report.

On July 6, a bomb accidentally fell from an Iraqi military jet and exploded in eastern Baghdad because of a technical problem, killing at least 12 people and wounding 25 others.

The Russian-made Su-25 warplane was returning to Rasheed air base after performing airstrikes against ISIL extremists in Anbar, when the bomb fell on three houses in Baghdad’s Jadida neighborhood.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since ISIL Takfiri militants began their march through the Iraqi territory in June 2014.

The heavily-armed terrorists took control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, before sweeping through parts of the country’s heartland.