( CNN ) -- Violence erupted across Iraq on Saturday , with dozens of killings reported in shellings , bombings and shootings , authorities said . Most of the deaths occurred in Anbar province , the Sunni region west of Baghdad where security forces have been squaring off with anti-government fighters . Soldiers shelled and bombed parts of Falluja , killing 17 people and wounding 21 others , health officials said . This comes as Iraq 's military embarks on a large-scale operation to regain control of the city . Military action , which included the bombing of mosques and houses in Falluja , sparked an exodus of thousands of residents fleeing the fighting , the officials said . The metropolis look like a `` a city of ghosts , '' Dr. Ahmed Ammar , an emergency room doctor at Falluja General Hospital , told CNN . `` Ninety-nine percent of Falluja citizens had fled the city , '' and moved to the northern outskirts , he said . `` We do n't have enough medical supplies to treat wounded people , '' Ammar said . `` The international community should intervene immediately and stop this mass killings conducted by al-Maliki and his forces . '' He was referring to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki , who is Shiite . `` Fighters are all outside the city , they are not inside . Why is the Iraqi army continuing to shell residential areas ? Who would accept that ? '' Ammar told CNN from an area where he can receive a phone signal . More than 300 people have been killed and more than 1,300 others have been wounded in the fighting in and around the city since the beginning of the year , authorities said . In the Anbar capital of Ramadi , two police officers told CNN that Iraqi security forces killed more than 30 anti-government fighters . Some of those fighters are militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria , linked to al Qaeda . The wave of violence reflects the growing sectarian tension across Iraq , where the Shiite majority prevails in government and the Sunni minority regards itself as political marginalized . Bombing attacks and a shooting left at least 19 dead and nearly two dozen wounded in other parts of the country , police said . A suicide car bombing near Dujail on Saturday killed seven people , including four soldiers , police said . The incident occurred at an Iraqi army checkpoint just north of Baghdad . In northern Iraq , one roadside bombing killed five police officers , another bombing left three civilians dead , and two people were killed in a shooting , police said . Near Baghdad , a roadside bomb killed two people near an outdoor market .
NEW : Falluja fighting sparks a large exodus . Violence reported in Ramadi . A rash of bombings killed several people . Iraq has been wracked with sectarian violence .