Militants who stormed Anbar University yesterday morning have withdrawn after briefly holding several students hostage.

Police and military officials said the students were boarding buses to leave the area when gunfire erupted between the militants and security forces at the university near Ramadi, the capital city of Anbar province.

Iraq is grappling with its worst upsurge in violence since 2006 and 2007, when the country was pushed to the brink of civil war by sectarian bloodshed.