Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 23 People

West of Baghdad on Thursday, a suicide bomber attacked a meeting of pro-government Sunni sheiks, killing at least 23 people, including three U.S. Marines. At least 18 more people died in a car bombing in the northern city of Mosul. al-Qaida has been particularly active in these Sunni Arab areas. They seem to wish to undermine U.S. efforts to shore up local administrations and secure the security gains achieved since early last year. The bomber was able to penetrate security because he was wearing a camouflage uniform of the police commandos.