Iraq Militants Seize Students, Fighting With al Qaeda Kills Over 50 People

When Iraq militants seized students witnesses recall waking to sound of gunfire only to look out the school windows and see armed men running across the university campus.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, even though President Obama recently proclaimed the Afghanistan war ending, and discussed how many US troops will be coming home, he’d still like to keep a military unit of about 10,000 soldiers stationed there for years to come. But the cost of the War On Terror continues to mount. Even if you exclude the military expenses, the cost of rebuilding Afghanistan will be $15 billion in 2014 alone and $6 to $10 billion is expected to be spent every annually.

Sunni Muslims fighting against the Shiite Muslim majority government in Baghad has been led by an al Qaeda splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The group is associated with the Syrian rebels that are attempting to topple the government of President Bashar Assad and they often attack Shiite Muslims who they consider heretics.

The Iraq militants seized students inside the university dorm room during the attack on Anbar University, which one of the largest universities in the country and it has more than 10,000 students. Fortunately, not a single student was harmed during the attack although the gunmen killed three police officers on guard at the university’s gate. Due to unclear circumstances, the terrorists gave up the hostages and retreated from the school while being fired upon by security forces.

Sabah Karhout, the head of Anbar’s provincial council, said that even though the Iraq militants seized students the death toll was extremely small:

“Not a single student or a university staff member was hurt during the raid. All of them went home and their ordeal is over.”

The hostages then escape on buses provided by the government and everyone had to run away while under sniper fire. Security then swept the university using bomb disposal experts because it was feared that the al Qaeda members may have left booby traps before fleeing.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has not claimed responsibility for the attack but fighting between Iraq’s militants and government forces led to the deaths of 21 police officers and 38 militants on Saturday alone.