2007年VOA标准英语-Suicide Bomber Kills Sunni Tribal Leaders, Othe

By Margaret Besheer
Baghdad
25 June 2007

A suicide bomber¹ has penetrated² intense security around a major Baghdad hotel, detonating his explosives in the lobby and killing³ at least a dozen people. Meanwhile, to the northeast of the capital, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces continue an offensive to expel al-Qaida militants⁴. From Baghdad, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Iraqi soldiers inspect damage as bodies lay on the floor at the Mansour hotel in central Baghdad, 25 Jun 2007

Witnesses say a man wearing an explosives belt entered the busy lobby of the Mansour hotel in central Baghdad around noon on Monday. As he approached the reception desk he detonated his explosives.

An informal meeting of local Sunni tribal⁵ sheikhs was taking place at the hotel, which is also the headquarters of several western media organizations and houses the Chinese Embassy. Several of the tribal leaders were reported among the dead.

The attack was the fifth in a string of suicide and other bombings Monday, from Mosul and Beiji in the north to Hilla in the south. Dozens of people were killed and injured in those attacks.

Meanwhile, in the restive⁶ Diyala province, U.S. and Iraqi troops entered the seventh day of Operation Arrowhead Ripper, aimed at rooting out al-Qaida militants who have migrated there as security increases in the Baghdad area.

Brigadier General John Bednarek told reporters in Baghdad via a video link from Diyala that the joint⁷ operation is making progress in eliminating al-Qaida.

"We have killed a heck of a lot of al-Qaida, probably somewhere less than a hundred of hardcore fighters here in western Baquba," he said. "We have detained about as many, perhaps a little bit less than a hundred."

The general said local citizens have provided intelligence that has led to the discovery of many weapons caches and the detention⁸ of 70 individuals. He says it has also led to grim discoveries.

"Torture chambers⁹ -- houses; implements¹⁰ of violence from knives, saws, blood trails; shallow graves of local nationals buried in the back courtyards of houses, that otherwise it would have taken us much longer to uncover," he said.

He says in just under a week, security in Baquba has improved to the point where normal life is beginning to resume.

Military officials say they expect the Baquba operation to take up to two months.

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 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

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 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 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。

9 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

10 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》