AS IT IS 2016-02-04 Saudi Media: 9 Americans Among Terror Suspects

AS IT IS 2016-02-04 Saudi Media: 9 Americans Among Terror Suspects

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested nine American citizens among a sweep of 33 terror suspects, the Saudi Gazette reported.

They were arrested in a sweep, or roundup, of suspects in response to recent terrorism in the kingdom.

The U.S. State Department says it is seeking details from the government of Saudi Arabia about reports that nine Americans have been detained in the kingdom as terror suspects.

The Saudi Gazette did not say if any of those arrested were linked to the Islamic State terror group. U.S. authorities were checking names to confirm if Americans were arrested, reports said.

Also arrested were 14 Saudis, three Yemenis and two Syrians, an Indonesian, a Philippine national and three others.

The arrests took place while Saudi Arabia witnessed several deadly attacks over the past months. Friday, a suicide bomber¹ attacked a Shi’ite mosque² in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, killing³ four.

Spokesman John Kirby, speaking Monday, said U.S. officials have seen Saudi media reports of the detentions⁵, and that diplomats⁶ are in contact with authorities in Riyadh. He told reporters he could not verify "the actual truth of these reports."

A Saudi website run by the kingdom's foreign ministry⁷ showed a list of 5,158 suspects in detention⁴, including eight Americans. It does not identify the Americans by name or gender⁸. It says four of them were detained January 25. 

It says four other Americans were arrested in November and December, and that all eight are "under investigation⁹."  A ninth American is shown convicted of an unidentified crime in 2007, and the website says the conviction is "subject to appeal."

Sunday's Saudi news report did not say whether any of the Americans is suspected of links to Islamic State extremists, who have claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks against Saudi security forces and minority Shi'ites in recent months.

Words in This Story

sweep – n. the act of picking up someone or something in one quick, continuous motion

roundup – n. the act or process of finding and gathering¹⁰ together people or things of the same kind

province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

1 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。