US Military Kills 7 Iraqis in Clash over Oil Theft

US Military Kills 7 Iraqis in Clash over Oil Theft

 

Sonja Pace

The U.S. military says troops shot and killed seven Iraqis during a clash with an armed group that was trying to steal oil from a pipeline¹ in central Iraq.

Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said an Iraqi informant led the troops to a group of about 40 armed Iraqis attempting to steal oil from a pipeline. "Forces attempted to apprehend² the Iraqis, but the Iraqis opened fire on them. The units returned fire, killing³ seven personnel and destroying three fuel tankers⁵."

The incident occurred Sunday near the town of Samarra. The U.S.-led coalition⁶ has blamed sabotage⁷, theft and smuggling⁸ for continuing fuel shortages in Iraq, a country that has one of the highest oil reserves in the world. The lack of fuel has been a major source of frustration⁹ for Iraqis.

In a separate incident, the military says one U.S. soldier was killed and two wounded by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Monday.

In another development, U.S. and Iraqi officials say they are going ahead with agreed upon plans for the transition from U.S. occupation to an Iraqi interim¹⁰ government.

Coalition spokesman Dan Senor said disagreements over some details of that transition are part of the new democratic process in Iraq. "We view this as a healthy sign that there is this diversity of opinion and that diversity of opinion is freely expressed and protected."

On Sunday, one of Iraq's most influential¹¹ Shiite clerics, Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, warned of growing instability if the United States goes ahead with plans to hand over power to an unelected interim government.

The current transition plan calls for nationwide caucuses¹³ to choose a Transitional National Assembly, which, in turn, would appoint an interim government in June. That government would run the country until elections late next year.

Ayatollah al-Sistani, however, wants a directly elected government from the outset. He says anything else lacks legitimacy¹⁴.

Coalition spokesman Dan Senor says those views are not at odds¹⁵ with the Coalition Authority. "Ayatollah Sistani has been very clear that he wants democratic direct elections. That is a clear vision for Iraq based on democratic principles. We may have discussions, the Governing Council may have discussions with various leaders about how best to get there. But the political and religious leaders we're hearing from share the basic principles with us about the need for a democratic, free Iraq."

Iraqi and coalition officials say the country is simply not yet prepared to hold national elections.

 

注释：

clash [klAF] n. 冲突

Brigadier General  准将

informant [in5fC:mEnt] n. 知情者

apprehend [AprI5hend] vt. 逮捕

personnel [7pE:sE5nel] n. 人员

tanker⁴ [5tANkE(r)] n. 油罐车

coalition [kEJE5lIF(E)n] n. 联盟

sabotage [5sAbEtB:V] n. （阴谋）破坏

smuggle¹⁶ [5smQ^l] v. 走私

frustration [frQs5treiFEn] n. 挫折，失败

Baghdad [`bA^dAd] n. 巴格达，伊拉克的首都及最大的城市，位于该国中部，底格里斯河沿岸。

interim [5intErim] adj. 临时的

Shiite [5Fi:aIt] adj. （伊斯兰）什叶派的

cleric [5klerik] n. 牧师，传教士

Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani  西斯塔尼，伊拉克什叶派地位最高的大宗教领袖

caucus¹² [5kC:kEs] n. 政党核心会议

Transitional National Assembly  过渡国民议会

appoint [E5pCint] vt. 任命

outset [5autset] n. 开端，开始

legitimacy [li5dVitimEsi] n. 合法（性）

at odds  争执，不一致

Coalition Authority  管理委员会

Governing Council （伊拉克）临时管理委员会

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

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 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

5 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

8 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

9 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

10 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

11 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

12 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

13 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

14 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

15 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

16 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。