2007年VOA标准英语-Explosion Rocks Iraqi Parliament Building

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil
12 April 2007

An apparent suicide bomber¹ has killed at least eight people in a cafeteria inside the building where the parliament meets in Baghdad's heavily fortified² Green Zone.  At least 20 other people were injured in the blast.  President Bush strongly condemned³ the attack and told reporters in Washington that the United States will continue to stand with the Iraqi government.  From northern Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Image from AP Television News shows a man and a woman leaving the area through thick dust following explosion in Iraqi parliament cafeteria in Baghdad, 12 Apr 2007

The explosion happened Thursday afternoon after parliament had finished its morning session. Some lawmakers were eating lunch or having tea in the cafeteria of the convention center, where the assembly meets, when the blast occurred.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation⁴, but the U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, Major General William Caldwell said there are indications it was the result of a suicide attack.

"What we know right now is that inside the parliamentary building on the second floor in the cafeteria, sometime this afternoon, about 2:30 p.m., it appears now from the eyewitness⁵ accounts there was a suicide vest," he said.

Officials from the Sunni National Dialogue Party confirmed that one of their legislators, Mohammad Awad, was among the dead. Identities of the other victims were not immediately known.

General Caldwell said suicide vests are an al-Qaida hallmark.

"We don't at this point have any indications who it is, but clearly, we're looking at it closely," he added.  "We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida and obviously we'll go to great detail to look at this one."

In Washington, President Bush strongly condemned the attack.

"My message to the Iraqi government is 'We stand with you as you take the steps necessary to not only reconcile politically, but also put a security force in place that is able to deal with these kinds of people,'" he said.

The parliament meets inside Baghdad's convention center in the heavily guarded Green Zone, which also houses the U.S. and British embassies and the offices of top Iraqi leaders. Long much safer than the rest of the capital, the Green Zone has recently become the target of intensified⁶ attacks.

In recent weeks, near daily mortar⁷ attacks have increased, with one assault killing⁸ two people. Last week officials found four suicide vests inside the Green Zone. In November, a car bomb exploded near the convention center and only a few weeks ago, a mortar struck just outside the building during a news conference Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon were holding.

The Green Zone is heavily guarded, but there are apartment buildings housing Iraqis inside the area and every day hundreds come in to work. Ordinary Iraqis are allowed to enter the Green Zone if they present adequate identification. Strict security checks are also in place.

Earlier Thursday, a bomb exploded on Baghdad's Sarafiya Bridge, which links the northern Baghdad neighborhoods of al-Attafiya and al-Waziriya. Officials say several people were killed and injured.

A police official told Iraqi television that witnesses said a truck stopped on the bridge, exploded, and half of the bridge collapsed⁹, throwing several cars into the river. He said rescuers were searching the Tigris for survivors¹⁰.

1 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。

2 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

6 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

8 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。

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

10 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者