Dozens of students at an Iraq university are being held hostage after gunmen stormed a building during an early-morning attack.
Police and army officials said the group entered Anbar University, west of Baghdad, situated in a province that has been held by Islamic extremists and other anti-government militants for months.
The students have been detained in a university dormitory, according to reports.
An Al Qaeda splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other Sunni-led militants have controlled parts of Anbar province, including the city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi, since late December.
Iraq is currently grappling with its worst surge in violence since the sectarian bloodshed in 2006 and 2007, when the country was pushed to the brink of civil war despite the presence of tens of thousands of US troops.
The latest violence has been fueled by Sunni Muslim anger at the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, as well as the civil war in neighboring Syria.
ISIL has carried out scores of deadly attacks on both sides of the border and imposed a brutal form of Islamic rule in territories under its control. It was not immediately clear if ISIL was behind the university attack.
Violence has claimed the lives of 799 Iraqis in May, the highest monthly death toll so far this year.
The soaring casualty rate has underlined the daunting challenges the government faces as it struggles to contain a surge in sectarian violence.
Dailym
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