US Marine Dies in Afghan Clash

 

Michael Kitchen

An armed clash in central Afghanistan has left one U.S. Marine¹ dead and another injured. The fighting comes amid efforts by neighboring Pakistan to root out Afghan militants³ hiding on its territory.

U.S. forces in Afghanistan say the attack occurred early Saturday in the mountainous central province of Uruzgan.

A military spokesman, Lieutenant⁴ Colonel Tucker Mansager, said the Marines were attacked during a night patrol south of the provincial⁵ capital of Tarin Kot.

"It was as the result of direct fire engagement with anti-coalition militias⁷ in the area," he said. "The attack did not occur against the Marine base. These people were out on a mission away from their base when the attack occurred."

He said attacks by anti-government insurgents⁹ had become more frequent over the past month. But he added that U.S. forces in Afghanistan had increased over the same period, from a level of 15,000 to about 20,000.

While some of the increase is due to an overlap¹⁰ of forces as troops are rotated out of the country, the larger size also includes a Marine "surge force" meant to bolster¹¹ the U.S. military presence.

U.S. and Afghan government forces are seeking to contain the anti-government militias as the country prepares for its first election in almost two decades, currently scheduled for September.

Lieutenant Colonel Mansager also voiced support for Pakistan's efforts to track down Afghan and other foreign militants believed hiding on the Pakistani side of the border.

Pakistan is currently negotiating the surrender of an estimated several hundred foreign militants, including members of the al-Qaida terror network, said to be based in the country's semi-autonomous tribal¹² area.

As talks between Pakistani officials and local tribal representatives continue, Pakistan has again extended the deadline for the militants to turn themselves in.

The U.S. military spokesman said his forces are cooperating closely with their Pakistani counterparts in order to flush out the Afghan insurgents.

"We continue to maintain robust¹³ forces down in that border area and continue to coordinate¹⁴ closely with the Pakistan military on the other side," said Lt. Colonel Mansager.

The majority of the anti-government forces are remnants of Afghanistan's former Taleban regime, ousted¹⁵ in 2001, which opposes both the planned election and the U.S. troop presence.
注释：
clash [klAF] n. 冲突
Afghanistan [Af5^AnistAn] n. 阿富汗，西南亚国家。
root out 发现
militant² [5militEnt] n. 激进分子
territory [5teritEri] n. 领土，版图
mountainous [5mauntinEs] adj. 多山的
patrol [pE5trEul] n. 巡逻
mission [5miFEn] n. 任务
insurgent⁸ [in5sE:dVEnt] n. 起义者
rotate [rEu5teit] v.（使）旋转，周边巡游
bolster [5bEulstE] v. 支持
militia⁶ [mi5liFE] n. 民兵
Lieutenant Colonel  中校
militant [5militEnt] n. 激进分子
al-Qaida 基地组织
semi-autonomous adj. 半自治的
tribal [5traibEl] adj. 部落的，种族的
counterpart [5kauntEpB:t] n. 合作伙伴
flush out（彻底）冲清，吹洗
robust [rE5bQst] adj. 精力充沛的
remnant [5remnEnt] n. 残余
regime [reI5Vi:m] n. 政权

 

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 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。

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 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。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 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

10 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

11 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

12 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

13 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

14 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

15 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。