At least 12 militants affiliated with the extremist Islamic State (IS) group and nine civilians were killed on Wednesday in airstrikes in an IS-held town near Iraq's western border with Syria, security and medical sources said.

An airstrike, believed to be conducted by the U.S.-led coalition aircraft, bombed two IS positions in the town of al-Qaim in Iraq's western province of Anbar, destroying the positions and leaving 12 militants killed and five others wounded, a source from Anbar's provincial Operations Command told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Another airstrike occurred at night and struck a residential building in the central town, killing nine people and wounding 20 others, a medical source from the provincial health department said.

The attacks come as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul.

source: Xinhua