December 21, 2013 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War:
- Battle of Aleppo: Rebel forces capture the Al-Kindi hospital after a huge suicide truck bombing destroys part of the building. (BBC)
- Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- Eighteen Iraqi military officers and soldiers are killed and more than 30 others injured after an attack in Rutbah, in Iraq's western Anbar province. Among those killed is the commander of the elite Iraqi 7th Division Major General Mohammed al-Karawi, as well as 4 other officers. (Reuters) (BBC)
- 2013 South Sudanese political crisis:
- Four U.S. personnel are wounded after the three CV-22 Osprey aircraft they were on were shot during an evacuation attempt of Americans from Bor, South Sudan. (CNN) (BBC)
Business and economy
- Canadian-American billionaire Edgar M. Bronfman, who ran Seagram until 1994, dies in Manhattan at age 84. (New York Times)
Disasters and accidents
- Despite an anti-flammable liquid coating, the yearly giant Yule goat in Gävle, Sweden, is again destroyed in an arson attack. (Expressen)
- Two NASA astronauts at the International Space Station begin a series of spacewalks to replace a faulty ammonia coolant pump. (FOX News) (NASA)