VOA慢速英语2014 巴基斯坦军队在卡拉奇阻止另一起恐怖袭击

 

AS IT IS 2014-06-11 Pakistani Forces Stop Another Attack in Karachi 巴基斯坦军队在卡拉奇阻止另一起恐怖袭击

Gunmen opened fire near the international airport in Karachi, Pakistan Tuesday.  The incident came two days after another attack at the airport that left at least 36 people dead.

Officials say at least two gunmen targeted the training center of the Airport Security Force.  The attackers reportedly were riding a motorbike.  They fled as security forces answered the attack.  Pakistan’s busiest airport was closed briefly¹.  The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Nisar Ali Khan is Pakistan’s Interior Minister.  On Tuesday, he told parliament that the attackers last weekend carried rocket launchers and rocket-propelled grenades.  He said they attempted to destroy aircraft, but were prevented from doing so by security forces.  Security force members died in the attack.

The interior minister also said the attackers carried a large amount of food and medicine.  He said this was evidence that they were planning to take hostages.

Pakistan officials said that 10 gunmen and seven airport workers were killed in the attack on Sunday.  The bodies of the workers at an airport cargo² company were found in a storage area that burned as gunmen attacked the airport.

Hours earlier, Sunni Muslim militants³ killed at least 26 Shiites in a suicide attack along Pakistan’s border with Iran.  Officials reported that one suicide bomber⁴ was killed and three others took their own lives.

A Taliban spokesman linked the airport attack to recent military strikes along the Afghan border.  He also linked the airport attack to the killing⁵ of the Taliban’s leader, Hakimullah Mehsud.

On Tuesday, the Pakistani military again carried out airstrikes on suspected Taliban targets in the northwestern Khyber area.  Military officials say at least 25 “terrorists” were killed.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday that he was “deeply concerned” about rising levels of violence across Pakistan.  He urged the Pakistani government to increase its effort to protect religious freedom.

1 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。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。