Baghdad Bombings Kill At Least 60; Ramadi University Stormed

tag-reuters (11) — People gather at the site of a car bomb attack at a market in the town of Iskandariya, June 2, 2014. A car bomb exploded at a market at the town of Iskandariya, south of Baghdad on Monday, killing two civilians and wounding more than nine, police and hospital sources said. REUTERS/ Alaa Al-Marjani

At least 60 people died in a wave of car bombings across Baghdad, mainly in Shiite areas, Saturday while in western Iraq, militants stormed a university in Ramadi.

The worst of the bombings was in the Bayaa area, leaving 23 dead, Reuters reported. AP put the death toll at nine.

Other bombs were detonated near a movie theater, a juice shop and a Shiite mosque. The BBC reported at least eight attacks.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

"I was about to close my shop when I heard a huge explosion on the main commercial street," Kareem Abdulla told Reuters. "I saw many cars set ablaze as well as shops."

Gunmen overwhelmed guards at the university in Ramadi overnight. The intruders remained in control of the area Saturday, exchanging fire with security forces. Hospital officials said at least two people were killed.

"We heard intense gunfire at about 4 a.m. We thought it was the security forces coming to protect us but were surprised to see they were gunmen," a professor trapped inside the physics department told Reuters by telephone. "They forced us to go inside the rooms, and now we cannot leave."

Iraq