VOA常速英语2008年-Gunmen Attack Israeli Embassy in Mauritania

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
01 February 2008

Suspected Islamic militants¹ attacked the Israeli embassy in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, early Friday. Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, two Mauritanians and a French woman were wounded when the attackers also opened fire on a nearby nightclub.

Witnesses say at least three attackers opened fire on the Israeli embassy building on a heavily fortified² street in the capital, Nouakchott, before dawn on Friday. After exchanging fire with embassy guards, the attackers opened fire on a nightclub about 50 meters from the embassy building, wounding several people.

Israeli officials say the embassy was closed at the time of the attack and no embassy personnel were injured. Israeli Foreign Ministry³ spokesman Ariyeh Mekel says Israel values its relations with Mauritania, which along with Jordan and Egypt is one of three Arab countries to recognize Israel. He says an Israeli security team is now on the scene, and there are no plans to close the embassy.

"It is valuable. Mauritania is one of only three Arab countries that have full diplomatic relations with Israel," he said. "We continue to further develop this relationship with Mauritania, in spite of this attack."

Anti-Israeli feelings have been growing in Mauritania since the Israeli government imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip because of Palestinian rocket fire against southern Israel. A coalition⁴ of political parties recently called on Mauritania's President to break relations with Israel because of the Gaza blockade.

Mauritania has also seen a recent spike⁵ in Islamist-inspired political violence. Islamic militants with suspected ties to al-Qaida were recently charged with killing⁶ four French tourists, and blamed for a separate attack on Mauritanian soldiers. The attacks caused the organizers of the Lisbon-Dakar Motor Rally to cancel the race for the first time in its 30-year history.

1 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。

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 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 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。

5 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

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。