Suicide raid on meeting of Sunni tribal leaders kills 23

A SUICIDE bomber killed at least 23 people and wounded 72 yesterday in an attack at a gathering of Sunni Arab tribal leaders who had come together for a lunch in Yusufiya, a town 12 miles south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

The bombing took place a day after the United States presence in the country officially came under an Iraqi government mandate for the first time, according to a bilateral security pact that took effect on New Year's Day.

Security spokesman Major-General Qassim Moussawi said Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Salih, a Sunni leader of the al-Qaraghouli tribe, hosted the lunch at his home on the outskirts of Yusufiya.

The bomber – Amin al-Qaraghouli, who was a relative of the host – entered through the rear gate of the house.

The sheikh was among the wounded.

Violence has dropped sharply in Iraq from the peak of sectarian bloodshed in 2006 and 2007, but suicide bombers and gunmen still regularly stage attacks.

A suicide bomber killed about 50 people at a restaurant near the city of Kirkuk on 11 December. An attack in Baghdad last week killed at least 25 people.

Sunni Arab militants have frequently targeted tribal gatherings since many tribes turned against insurgents.