An airstrike by a Dutch F-16 on a car bomb factory in Iraq in 2015 killed at least 70 civilians, an investigation by the NRC Handelsblad daily and Dutch public broadcaster NOS revealed.

According to Dutch media, the bombing happened during the early hours of June 3, 2015, and it completely destroyed a neighborhood in the Iraqi city of Hawija.

Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld told NRC and NOS that she cannot yet comment on the matter as the bombing is considered as one of the bloodiest attacks aimed at a military target by the international coalition against Daesh terrorists.

According to Reuters, the bomb attack "triggered a series of secondary explosions that reduced the surrounding area in the industrial district to rubble."

Pentagon reportedly said three weeks after the attack it would formally investigate the incident, confirming that around 70 people were killed.

That report has never been published but according to U.S. media, it was a U.S. warplane that bombed the factory, while the NRC says it had been told by several sources that a Dutch F-16 carried out the attack.

The Netherlands started carrying out airstrikes in Iraq against Daesh terrorists in 2014 as part of the international coalition.