2007年VOA标准英语-Yazidi, Muslim Leaders in Kurdistan Condemn Rec

By Brian Padden
Irbil, Iraq
17 August 2007

The death toll¹ from a series of suicide attacks on Iraq's Yazidi sect² on Tuesday continues to rise.  Officials now estimate at least 400 people were killed and hundreds more wounded when four truck bombs exploded in this normally peaceful part of northern Iraq.  U.S. and Kurdish officials say the attack is most likely an attempt to incite³ violence between the minority Yazidi sect and local Muslims.  VOA's Brian Padden reports from the Kurdish city of Irbil.

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Iraqi soldier videotapes the ruins of a coordinated suicide attack in the town of Qahataniya, 15 Aug 2007

The truck bombs flattened⁵ hundreds of homes, trapping hundreds of people in the rubble⁶.

The director of operations for the senior military staff in Washington, Lieutenant⁷ General Carter Ham, told a Pentagon news conference U.S. forces are helping⁸ with search and recovery efforts in the wake of the attacks, and are providing medical treatment and supplies. 

He says they are also working with Iraqi authorities to determine who is responsible.

"We don't yet know who did it, but certainly has the markings of an al-Qaida in Iraq type of attack," he said.  "They've made it known that they wish to attack non-Muslims, so that may be a part of this.  It may be in part [that] it is just their nature to attack [the] innocent and vulnerable as an effort, I suppose, to convey that there isn't security across the country."

Ido Babasheikh, Iraq's presidential advisor⁹ for Yazidien affairs, says this bombing is another example of Islamic extremists trying to incite violence among religious groups in Iraq.  

"We think that this crime is not against the Yazidiens, just the Yazidiens, it's against all the communities of the Iraqi society and the Iraqi community and against all humanity in this region," he said.

Hadi Ali, with the Kurdistan Islamic Union, says this attack fits the Sunni militant¹⁰ pattern of trying to spark fighting among different groups. 

Ali says just look at how they work.  They set off many explosions in Baghdad and Kirkuk, and other places.  He says they always find an excuse to attack.

Officials are concerned about increased tensions between Yazidi and Muslims in northern Iraq.  The military presence in these areas has been increased and a curfew set in place.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

3 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

6 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

7 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。