VOA常速英语2007-Car Bomb in Baghdad Kills 4, Wounds 15

By Jim Randle
Irbil, Iraq
12 October 2007

Iraqi officials say a Baghdad car bomb has killed four people and wounded 15 more. In northern Iraq, a bomb in a cart full of toys has killed one child and wounded another 13. And the U.S. military is investigating an air raid that killed 15 civilians² on Thursday.  VOA's Jim Randle reports from northern Iraq.

The military says the air raid targeted senior al-Qaida leaders in the Lake Thar Thar region, northwest of the capital, and that ground and air assault troops acted on intelligence reports of insurgent³ activity in the area.

A U.S. military spokesman expressed regret at the civilian¹ deaths, but said militants⁴ had placed Iraqi women and children in danger by their presence and actions.

Iraq's continuing violence is the subject of a new report from the United Nations that says bloodshed and a deepening humanitarian⁵ crisis continue to drive thousands of Iraqis from their homes.

Ali Hussein, an ethnic⁶ Kurd, says his family fled Mosul to a camp for displaced persons in northern Iraq after terrorists tried to kill him, kidnapped and killed his brother, and then targeted him again in the marketplace.

Hussein and his wife, children and his dead brother's daughter now have a makeshift home in an abandoned building in an army camp outside Mosul.

Hussein is one of about 2.2 million displaced people inside Iraq along with a similar number of refugees who have fled the country.

The U.N. report says civilians like Hussein are suffering devastating⁷ consequences of the ongoing⁸ violence.

Thursday's report by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq also called for investigations⁹ into the actions of foreign security contractors¹⁰, and alleged¹¹ mistreatment of detainees held across Iraq.

Meanwhile, Turkish troops remain poised¹² for a possible military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr. Erdogan says his country will deal with any international criticism that follows military action against guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who have been staging attacks from bases in northern Iraq against Turkish security forces in southeastern Turkey.  The PKK seeks autonomy for Turkey's Kurds. 

Turkey's government will seek parliamentary approval next week for possible cross border military action against the PKK in northern Iraq.

Officials in the autonomous¹³ Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq say they understand Turkey's concerns about PKK violence, but the head of the regional government's Department of Foreign Relations, Falah Mustafa Bakir, says a violent response is not the solution.

"PKK is a problem," he said.  "It has to be handled. There has to be a political approach in order to solve that problem. Military means cannot provide the solution."

The United States is also urging Turkey not to take military action, because it could destabilize Iraq's mostly peaceful northern region.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 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。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

12 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

13 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。