TEMPO.CO, Baghdad - A wave of car bombs exploded across Baghdad on Saturday, killing more than 60 people, Iraq security sources said. On the same day, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stormed the University of Anbar and took the students hostage.
In total, there were a dozen blasts in mainly Shi'ite-occupied districts of the capital, the deadliest of which occurred in Bayaa, where a car bomb killed 23 people, many of them young men playing billiards.
"I was about to close my shop when I heard a huge explosion on the main commercial street," said Kareem Abdulla, whose legs were still shaking from the shock. "I saw many cars set ablaze as well as shops".Other bombs went off near a cinema, a popular juice shop and a Shi'ite mosque.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the bombings, but the Shi'ite community has been a frequent target for Sunni Islamist insurgents who have been regaining ground and momentum in Baghdad. Since Thursday, militants have seized parts of Ramadi and Falluja.
On Saturday, ISIL militias took control of the campus of Anbar University in Ramadi. They seized the campus and took hostages until nightfall. Iraqi special forces were deployed to deal with the situation. Interior Minister of Iraq, Adnan al-Assadi, said yesterday that the Iraqi special forces managed to free all the hostages from the dormitory in Anbar University.
REUTERS | CHANNEL NEWS ASIA | ABDUL MANAN
