2007年VOA标准英语-Pakistani Police Battle Religious Militants in

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
04 July 2007

Pakistani security forces say time is running out for more than 1,000 militants¹ inside Islamabad's radical² Lal Masjid or Red Mosque³. Powerful blasts and machine gunfire could be heard around the mosque throughout the day. The mosque's chief cleric, captured Wednesday, urged his supporters to either escape or surrender. VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from the capital.

The firebrand cleric Abdul Aziz was arrested Wednesday evening as he tried to sneak⁴ out of the mosque apparently⁵ disguised as a woman.

He appeared on state-run television Thursday morning still wearing the flowing black burqa he had tried to escape in.

Aziz, who previously⁶ bragged⁷ about meeting terrorist leader Osama Bin⁸ Laden⁹, remained defiant¹⁰ throughout the interview.

He said Lal Masjid's supporters had in his words "love and sympathy" for jidahist groups but rejected allegations that the mosque was directly connected to any armed militants.

blindfolded11 hardcore militants who were holed up in The Red Mosque, 05 Jul 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070706/1450330.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Pakistani army soldiers escort detained blindfolded hardcore militants who were holed up in The Red Mosque, 05 Jul 2007

Aziz said around 900 people were still inside the mosque, most of them women.

He says there are only around 10 to 15 machine guns in the mosque and several gas masks that he says were provided by unspecified "friends".

The Pakistani army has surrounded the mosque since Tuesday when bloody¹² clashes between government security forces and student militants left at least 16 people dead and more than 150 others wounded.

Hundreds of students have accepted a government amnesty but officials say time is running out for those who remain.

The head of Pakistan's crisis management office, Brigadeer Javed Iqbal Cheema told reporters Thursday that any additional casualties would be the direct responsibility of Abdul Aziz's brother, Ghazi, who is still leading the resistance inside the mosque.

"He has to surrender. He is a criminal, he has to come and surrender before the government unconditionally," Cheema said.

Lal Masjid has been at the center of a months-long standoff with government security forces after the two brothers vowed¹³ to impose strict Taleban-style Islamic law.

Their supporters launched a controversial anti-vice campaign and recently briefly¹⁴ kidnapped several police officers and alleged¹⁵ prostitutes from mainland China.

The conflict comes as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf faces mounting political opposition¹⁶ ahead of national elections expected later this year.

Many of his critics used the Lal Masjid confrontation¹⁷ to highlight concerns that the government has failed to control the country's religious extremists.

1 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。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 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。

4 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 bragged   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
• Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

11 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

13 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。