Six More Civilians Killed by Suspected Insurgents in Iraq

Six More Civilians¹ Killed by Suspected Insurgents³ in Iraq

 

Nick Simeone

 

In Iraq, at least six more Iraqi civilians have been killed by suspected insurgents, three of them when a bomb exploded outside a hotel in the southern city of Basra. It was the second time an Iraqi hotel has been targeted in as many days. The increasing violence against civilians comes as Iraq approaches the one year anniversary of the start of the war that toppled Saddam Hussein.

 

In addition to those killed in Basra, three Iraqis working for the U.S. backed Iraqi Media Network were shot dead Thursday as they were driving north of Baghdad.

 

These new attacks on civilians came just a day after a devastating⁴ car bomb destroyed a Baghdad hotel. In the confusion of the blast, the death toll⁵ was initially⁶ put as high as 28, but was lowered to seven Thursday. US General Mark Kimmitt says authorities have yet to determine if the bomber⁷ was acting⁸ on behalf of any particular group.

 

"It's still unknown who was responsible for this act. It was a suicide bomber. The suicide bomber perished as part of the explosion. The intelligence has not yet pointed⁹ back to any particular group."

 

As the one year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war approaches, U.S. military officials have been suggesting the security situation is improving, despite the recent increase in attacks against foreign and Iraqi civilians. Late Thursday, two more Baghdad hotels were hit with rockets but apparently¹⁰ caused no casualties.

 

Military analyst¹¹ and retired¹² U.S. Army Colonel Ken¹³ Allard sees the violence as an effort to intimidate¹⁴ anyone working with occupation forces.

 

"It simply shows that, at least in the minds of the insurgents, all of these are legitimate¹⁵ military targets."

 

President Bush addressed troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky Thursday, calling the hotel bombing in Baghdad a day earlier a test of American resolve and drawing cheers from soldiers when he mentioned the fate of Saddam Hussein.

 

"And so in one year's time, Saddam Hussein has gone from a palace, to a bunker, to a spider hole, to jail."

 

But for the second time this week, another major U.S. ally is voicing criticism of the handling of Iraq. Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, whose military commands nearly 10,000 multi-national forces there, told reporters he feels he was misled into believing Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, none of which have been found. But he added it does not make sense to pull Poland's forces out of Iraq right now, noting they are there to help stabilize¹⁶ the country.

 

On Monday, Spain's incoming prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero called the U.S.-led war a 'disaster' and threatened to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq if they are not put under United Nations control.

 

注释：

Basra [5bAzrE] 巴士拉（伊拉克东南部港市）

topple [5tCpl] v. 倾倒

Baghdad [5bA^dAd] n. 巴格达（伊拉克首都）

blast [blB:st] n. 爆炸

rocket [5rCkit] n. 火箭

casualty [5kAVjuElti] n. 伤亡

intimidate [in5timideit] v. 胁迫

occupation forces  占领军

insurgent² [in5sE:dVEnt] n. 起义者

legitimate [li5dVitimit] v. 给……以合法地位，宣布……为合法

resolve [ri5zClv] n. 决心

fate [feit] n. 天数，命运

bunker [5bQNkE] n. 碉堡，掩体

spider hole （军）狙击手掩蔽坑

mislead [mis5li:d] vt. 误导

pull out  离开，撤走

 

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 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。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 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。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 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。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

14 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

15 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

16 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。