The Iraqi Civil War continues: Eighteen year-old Amin Ahmend Qarqouly detonates explosives wired to his body, killing himself, and 23 of his fellow tribesmen, at a reconciliation gathering of his tribe in Yousifya, Iraq. Sheik Mohammed Abdullah had called tribal leaders from rival Sunni (legacy of Mohammed) and Shi’ite (Partisans of Ali) Moslem factions in hopes of ending their six year-long cycle of religious-based violence.
NOTE: Meanwhile, no members of the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) were killed in Iraq.
[added 8/28/2021]
Subsequent Events:
References:
Ned Parker and Ali Hameed, “Blast Kills 23 at Iraq Unity Gathering,” Los Angeles Times, 3 January 2009, A3.