Three Islamic State fighters were mauled to death by a pack of wild boar, reports U.K.'s The Times. Another 5 militants were also injured in the attack.
The men were said to be taking cover in a field as they set up an ambush for local tribesmen, local leaders said.
"It is likely their movement disturbed a herd of wild pigs, which inhabit the area as well as the nearby cornfields," Sheikh Anwar al-Assi, a chief of the local Ubaid tribe and supervisor of anti-ISIS forces, told the Times. "The area is dense with reeds, which are good for hiding in."
The incident occurred after Islamic State fighters executed 25 people in the town of Hawija, one of three Islamic State complete-control strongholds in Iraq. The executions were ordered after several people tried to escape the town, according to local leaders.
"We know that a massacre took place in Hawija district through our sources," al-Assi said. "This will not be ISIS's last massacre against citizens."
Mackenzie Wolf is an editorial intern for Military Times.
