2007年VOA标准英语-Iraqi Police Find Body That May Be Missing US S

By Barry Newhouse
Mosul
23 May 2007

The U.S. military is trying to determine if a body found in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad is one of three missing U.S. soldiers. Elsewhere in Iraq, suicide bombs, roadside blasts, and gunbattles killed at least 29 people, including seven U.S. soldiers and two Marines. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Mosul.

Iraqi men and a policeman try to pull a body from the Euphrates River at Musayyib, Iraq, 23 May 2007

Top U.S. military spokesman General William Caldwell confirmed that investigators¹ are trying to determine if the body found in Babil province is one of the three American soldiers who have been missing since May 12.

An Iraqi man who watched as the body was pulled from the river told reporters what he saw.

He says two bodies were recovered from the river, and one of them was beheaded. He said one of the bodies was in a U.S. military uniform and bore signs of torture.

Al Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, but has provided no proof. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops have been searching palm groves², swamps and rivers in the rural area south of Baghdad for the missing soldiers. Several patrols have been attacked while searching through the Sunni-majority area.

In violent Diyala province, a suicide bomber³ struck a café in the town of Mandali near the Iranian border. In Baghdad and in al Anbar province, U.S. officials said roadside bombs and gunbattles killed at least nine American troops.

General Caldwell told reporters in Baghdad that the military expects more fighting as American and Iraq troops conduct more operations targeting insurgents⁴ and terrorists.

The general says coalition⁵ forces have conducted 45 operations against al Qaida in the past week, killing⁶ 19 terrorists and detaining 88 suspected terrorists. General Caldwell also said soldiers discovered al-Qaida hideouts near the town of Karma northeast of Fallujah.

"These locations also turned out to contain torture chambers," he said. "Al Qaida was using these houses to hold kidnap victims and torture them, to try to intimidate⁷ people into cooperating with them and to submit to their desires."

American and Iranian diplomats⁸ are scheduled to meet Sunday in Baghdad for talks on improving security in Iraq. During two regional conferences on Iraq in recent months, representatives from the two countries had little contact.

But Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh says his country has paid a price because of tension between Iran and the United states.

"We do not want Iraq to be an arena⁹ of fights between two sides and we do not want Iraq to be an arena for sending messages between two countries. This is what the Iraqi government wants," said Dabbagh.

Dabbagh says Iraqi officials hope Sunday's meeting will be a starting point for improving relations among Iraq's neighbors.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

3 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。

4 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

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。