More US Raids Possible on the Ground in Iraq

AS IT IS 2015-10-29 More US Raids Possible on the Ground in Iraq

The U.S. says more raids could occur in northern Iraq like the one that rescued 70 hostages last week.

“No target is beyond our reach,” said Secretary of Defense¹ Ash Carter. He spoke² during a congressional hearing on American military strategy in the Middle East on Tuesday.

"We won't hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against" the Islamic State, Carter said.

Future strikes could come on the ground if needed.

The Kurds released a dramatic video taken with a helmet-mounted camera showing the raid. About 60 Kurdish and U.S. soldiers worked together during the rescue on Oct. 22.

They attacked an Islamic State (IS) prison near the Iraqi city of Kirkuk and released the captives.

The hostages were in serious danger.

They said they expected to be executed the next day.

“Their graves had already been prepared,” Carter said.

In a follow-up video, some of the rescued hostages told of their experiences in captivity⁴.

They talked about a constant feeling of dread⁵ as three or four hostages were executed each day.

Another man talked of being tortured multiple times with electric shocks and beatings.

Six Islamic State militants⁶ were detained and 20 were killed, according to the Kurdish government.

An American special-forces soldier, Joshua Wheeler of Oklahoma, died of gunfire during the rescue. He was the father of four sons.

In the video, dozens of men wearing traditional robes, called galabia, emerged from a dimly lit doorway⁷ with their hands up. Gunshots echoed in the background.

Men yelled, "Let’s go, let’s go!” in Arabic.

The video cut to another scene as other men walked down a hallway with the Islamic State flag tacked³ to the wall. Soldiers checked their bodies for weapons before herding⁸ them to another location.

It is the sort of scene you only see on television or in movies.

But the recording⁹ is real.

On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed the authenticity¹¹ of the video. Captain Jeff Davis said the U.S. approved the Iraqis’ use of helmet cameras and knew the video would be released.

Officials said about 20 of the rescued men were part of the Iraqi security forces. They were all taken to the city of Irbil.

The original plan was for the Kurdish soldiers to conduct the rescue. But once the Kurds started taking heavy gunfire, the Americans entered the fight.

That’s when Wheeler was shot. He was a 20-year Army veteran and earned 11 Bronze Star medals. He was 39.

Wheeler was the first American killed since the U.S. launched Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014.

This kind of cooperative operation may become more common. The U.S. pledged to support Iraqi and Kudish security with air strikes in August 2014. But it was the first time American soldiers were used in ground combat.

The Kurdish fighters – called Peshmerga – are not able to carry out some missions without U.S. support, says Sarhang Hamasaeed of the U.S. Institute of Peace. “They don’t have the reach that they need to defeat this adversary¹²,” he said.

The battle against the Islamic State goes beyond Iraq, too.

Nine people were killed during a Monday morning raid on a suspected cell in southeast Turkey. The Turkish deputy prime minister said 12 Islamic State fighters were captured after the battle lasted for hours.

It could signal the beginning of sustained conflict between IS and Turkish security forces in the Kurdish region close to the border with Syria.

Some analysts¹³ say a suicide bombing during a peace rally early in Ankara in October turned up the pressure on the Turkish government to act more decisively. The bombing was blamed on IS.

“There has been criticism of Turkish policy of being viewed too negligent¹⁴ on IS,” says Sinan Ulgen, a Carnegie Institute scholar. “But with the Ankara bombing, things changed.”

Words in This Story

adversary – n. an enemy or opponent

authentic¹⁰ – adj. real or genuine : not copied or false

dread – n. a strong feeling of fear about something that will or might happen

mount – v. to attach (something) to something for support or use

negligent – adj. failing to take proper or normal care of something or someone

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 tacked   

用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝

参考例句：

• He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
• The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

4 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

5 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

6 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。

7 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

8 herding   

中畜群

参考例句：

• The little boy is herding the cattle. 这个小男孩在放牛。
• They have been herding cattle on the tableland for generations. 他们世世代代在这高原上放牧。

9 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

10 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

11 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

12 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。