Wave of bomb attacks in Iraq kill 32, injure over 100

 BAGHDAD, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A new wave of bomb attacks, including 10 car bombings, targeted both Iraqi security forces and civilians³ across the country on Monday, killing⁴ a total of 32 people and wounding more than 100 others.

Such deadly attacks are seen as apparent attempts by insurgent⁵ groups to stir up sectarian strife⁶ among Iraqis to push the country to the brink⁷ of a civil war, amid persistent⁸ political divisions that have already paralyzed the country's government.

One of the attacks targeted a residential⁹ area inhabited by an ethnic¹⁰ Shiite minority named al-Shabak when a car bomb ripped through their village of Tahir-Awa, some 30 km east of Mosul, killing seven of them and wounding 14 others. Most of the victims are women and children.

In a separate incident, two roadside bombs detonated almost simultaneously¹¹ in a nearby village without causing human casualty.

The Iraqi Shabak people are living in villages in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, particularly around the provincial¹² capital city of Mosul, some 400 km north of the country's capital Baghdad.

Meanwhile, five people were killed and 25 wounded in two car bomb explosions at a residential area in the city of Tuz-Khurmato, some 200 north of Baghdad.

Separately, three policemen, including an officer, were killed and three others wounded when gunmen attacked their patrol with a bomb and gunfire on a main road near the village of Albu-Slaibi close to the town of Dhuluiyah, some 90 km north of Baghdad.

In a separate incident, a booby-trapped car went off near a bus carrying Iranian Shiite pilgrims and travelling south of the town of Dujail, some 60 km north of Baghdad, wounding 14 Iranians, the source said.

The blast also destroyed nearby cars and killed two Iraqi civilians.

Elsewhere, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint and blew up a booby-trapped car in the city of Tikrit, the capital of Salahudin province in north of Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding four others.

In the Iraqi city of Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, another car bomb went off near a police checkpoint and wounded three civilians.

In Iraq's western province of Anbar, mortar¹³ rounds landed on a residential area in the town of Rutba, some 375 km west of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding six others.

Also in the province, a car bomb struck a police patrol in the town of Khaldiyah, some 80 km west of Baghdad, killing two policemen and wounding three others, including an officer.

In Baghdad, a car bomb detonated near Uqba Bin¹ Nafie Square in the city's central district of Karrada, killing a civilian² and wounding four others.

Near Baghdad, three soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack near their patrol in the town of Tarmiyah, some 20 km north of the capital, while two policemen were wounded in a separate bomb explosion near their patrol in the town of Madain, some 30 km south east of Baghdad.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, gunmen attacked the house of a tribal¹⁴ leader late Sunday at a village near the town of Qara- Tabba, some 165 km north east of Baghdad, and killed his son, grandson and a woman before they fled the scene.

On Monday morning, the attacker returned and detonated three bombs at a funeral tent set up for the victims, killing three people and wounding 10 others.

Also in the province, three people were killed and 20 wounded Monday in eight bomb and gunfire attacks, including two car bombings.

The attacks came after a series of bomb attacks struck the city of Kirkuk Sunday night, which killed at least 11 people and wounded some 50 others.

Observers said the attacks are part of an attempt by insurgent groups, including al-Qaida militant¹⁵ group, to show that they are capable of carrying out coordinated¹⁶ and high-profile attacks to undermine the Iraqi government's promise of providing security to Iraqis.

The attacks also reflect the insurgent groups' intention to stir up sectarian strife among Iraqis and raise fears that the country could be brought back to widespread violence, particularly as Iraq is trying to avoid the spillover of violence from the ongoing¹⁷ conflict in neighboring Syria.

Violence in Iraq has ebbed¹⁸ from its climax¹⁹ in 2006 and 2007, when sectarian conflicts pushed the country to the brink of a civil war, but tensions and sporadic²⁰ shootings and bombings are still common across the country.

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

7 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

8 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

9 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

10 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。

11 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 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。

18 ebbed   

（指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• But the pain had ebbed away and the trembling had stopped. 不过这次痛已减退，寒战也停止了。
• But gradually his interest in good causes ebbed away. 不过后来他对这类事业兴趣也逐渐淡薄了。

19 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

20 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。