肯尼亚部队解救商场人质

 　　肯尼亚部队解救商场人质

        NAIROBI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan soldiers said late Monday they have killed three terrorists and injured a few others as they took control of the entire shopping mall in the capital Nairobi.

　　The Kenya Defense¹ Forces (KDF) said 10 more bodies have been retrieved² from the building in the past 24 hours as the standoff with the Al-Qaida linked Somali gunmen claimed 62 lives.

　　"Chances of any terrorists sneaking³ and escaping are very slim. KDF troops have sealed all possible escape routes," the military said in a statement.

　　The military has also appealed to Kenyans to remain calm and report any suspicious looking individuals or activities to the nearest security agencies of the government as they continue with the operation at the besieged⁴ Westgate mall.

　　Saturday's attack came 16 years after the 1998 twin blasts at the U. S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam⁵, Tanzania.

　　The Somali militants⁶ of Al-Shabaab have claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the Westgate shopping mall, saying the attack was part of retaliation⁷ for the cross-border incursion by Kenyan soldiers in October 2011.

　　Westgate is a popular shopping center frequented mostly by rich Kenyans and foreigners.It is a multi-storey building with a basement and rooftop parking that also houses the mainstream⁸ department stores, banks, phone centers and electronic shops, boutiques, coffee shops, movie theatre and party/amusement areas.

　　The emergency rescue phase has been running over 36 hours, with 62 confirmed fatalities⁹, 49 missing persons and 175 injured victims, who were sent to hospitals for specialized¹⁰ care and psychosocial support.

　　The KDF said they have occupied every level of the four-story Westgate Mall, declaring the operation to flush out the gunmen and rescue those held captive may end soon.

　　The statement comes as thick smoke continues to billow out of the building four hours after a fire broke out amid sporadic¹¹ bursts of gunfire and explosions.

　　The KDF said fire which has engulfed¹² the building and its environs was started in the building by the terrorists to distract the ongoing¹³ operation, but noted¹⁴ that it was being managed by fire fighters from different agencies.

　　"KDF has dominated all floors of Westgate Mall building. Troops are now concentrating on clearing the building. Regrettably, 11 KDF soldiers have been injured in this operation and are receiving medical attention at the Defense Forces Memorial Hospital," the statement said.

　　According to the KDF, over 200 civilians¹⁵ have been rescued with 65 receiving treatment in various hospitals.

　　"Unfortunately 62 have been confirmed dead. KDF expresses sympathy to the injured and condoles¹⁶ to the families that have lost their loved ones in this attack," the KDF said.

　　Cabinet Secretary in charge of Internal Security Joseph Ole Lenku had earlier said on Monday that security has also been beefed up along the border areas with Ethiopia and Somalia.

　　He said the security apparatus¹⁷ in the border regions have been ordered to scale up their security check and ensure that no one gets in or out of the country following the attack.

　　All major hotels, restaurants, bars and public service vehicle operators across the East African country have been directed to enhance their security arrangements including screening visitors.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

3 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

4 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

5 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。

6 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。

7 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

11 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。

12 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 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。

16 condoles   

v.表示同情，吊唁( condole的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

17 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。