Gunmen attack checkpoint, kill 12 Iraqi soldiers

[Barrett808]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in northern Iraq on Friday, killing 12 soldiers and wounding one, Iraqi army Major General Anwar Hamad Ameen said.

Ameen told Reuters the gunmen attacked the soldiers in Rashaad, 40 km (24 miles) south of Kirkuk, with rocket propelled grenades and machineguns at 3.30 p.m. (1130 GMT). The Defense Ministry confirmed the incident but said it had no details.

"This area is a stronghold for Takfirists and terrorists," he said. Takfirists is a term used to describe Islamist extremists.

Attacks on army checkpoints in and around Kirkuk are common by Sunni insurgents fighting to oust the U.S.-backed coalition government of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060714/ts_nm/iraq_soldiers_dc

[whistle]

1. Does anyone have a map of the hostile hot-spots in the world

...at this very moment? Say plotted by the last 14 days and then match those plots to visits by top U.S staff and cabinet heads over the past 30 days.