Iraqi security forces rescue 1,300 hostages

Iraqi security forces rescue 1,300 hostages
Sat Jun 7, 2014 16:52:12

Iraqi security forces have launched an assault on a university where al-Qaeda-linked terrorists took staff and students hostage in the city of Ramadi, rescuing all 1,300 hostages, a senior al-Anbar provincial official says.

Iraqi forces cordoned off the university on Saturday and attacked the terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), rescuing all of the hostages, Chairman of al-Anbar Provincial Council Sabah Karhut said.

The assault was spearheaded by Iraqi special forces.

The terrorists were given some time to surrender themselves and their weapons, Karhut added.

According to local reports, heavy gunfire could be heard and scores of people were reported killed or injured.

Earlier, armed elements of the ISIL infiltrated the university from the nearby Al-Tasha area, killed its security guards, and took staff and students hostage at the university campus of the troubled Iraqi city.

RA/MB

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