The conflict is now over but it must have been a traumatic experience for these students.

FOX News reported.

Dozens of students held hostage after gunmen storm Iraq university

Dozens of students were being held hostage after gunmen stormed a university in the restive Anbar province west of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said Saturday.

Police and army officials say the attack took place Saturday morning when gunmen stormed Anbar University near the provincial capital Ramadi, parts of which have been held by Islamic extremists and other anti-government militants for months. The gunmen have detained dozens of students inside the university dormitory, they said.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Sky News reported that the militants infiltrated the site by killing guards before blowing up a bridge leading to the main gate. Security forces have cordoned off the campus.

Ahmed al-Mehamdi, a student who was taken hostage, said he awoke to the crackle of gunfire, looked out the window and saw armed men dressed in black racing across the campus. Minutes later, the gunmen entered the dormitory and ordered everybody to stay in their rooms.

“The gunmen took some students to other university buildings. For the rest of us, we are still trapped in our rooms and everybody is in panic, especially the Shiite students,” al-Mehamdi told The Associated Press in a phone interview from inside the dormitory.