美国国家公共电台 NPR--A prominent Taliban cleric is killed in an explosion in Kabul

A prominent Taliban cleric is killed in an explosion in Kabul

Transcript¹

Afghan cleric and senior Taliban leader Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani was killed in an apparent suicide attack in Kabul on Thursday.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Now to Afghanistan, where a prominent Taliban cleric, Rahimullah Haqqani, was killed today in Kabul. He was apparently² targeted in the bomb blast that killed him. NPR's Diaa Hadid is in Kabul. Diaa, who was he? What's he best known for?

DIAA HADID, BYLINE³: Right. So Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani was a prominent cleric in the Taliban, and he was widely loved. He was particularly followed by Taliban members in the east of Afghanistan, where he came from. He was also a man known for his brazen⁴ opinions in a region where that can be deadly. So he had spoken out quite harshly against an Islamic form of practice called Salafism, and it's followed by many militant⁵ groups, in particular the local branch of ISIS. He had also spoken out in favor of girls' education, even though the Taliban have banned girls from going to secondary school. So you can see in that sort of the independence of his beliefs and the firmness of his beliefs. He survived a previous assassination⁶ attempt when he was living in Pakistan in the city of Peshawar. He was teaching in a madrassa when, in October 2020, a suicide bomber⁷ walked into a class and blew himself up. He killed 10 boys, but the sheikh himself survived the attack.

MART?NEZ: So what's known so far about what happened to him today?

HADID: So the deputy spokesman of the Taliban confirmed that he was killed. And Reuters has provided more detail. Reuters reports that a man with a prosthetic leg approached Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani and then blew himself up. It appears that the explosives were hidden in the prosthetic leg itself. There are unconfirmed reports so far that the attack happened in an area called Shash Darak. That's a part of the Green Zone in Kabul. It's a heavily guarded area. It's surrounded by blast walls. And the Taliban check everyone coming in and out of there because it's where their major security installations are. So if the attack indeed did take place there, it would be a major blow to their efforts to keep security in the capital.

MART?NEZ: And has anyone claimed responsibility?

HADID: There's been no claim of responsibility yet, but previous attacks like this have been the work of the local branch of ISIS. Sometimes these attacks are never claimed. The previous attack on Sheikh Rahimullah was never claimed, and that owes something, one suspects, to his stature⁸ in the Taliban.

MART?NEZ: Monday will mark one year since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. What's the security situation in the country now? And what are some of the challenges ahead for the Taliban?

HADID: Well, A, this is really interesting, because when the Taliban came to power a year ago, the one promise that they made to Afghans was that with them in power, decades of war and instability would end. The war was over. Afghans could have safety and security. They could live in peace. But that promise is looking increasingly tenuous⁹, as we've seen in the past few months, a drumbeat of attacks against Taliban leaders, against Taliban fighters, against minorities like Shiite Hazaras. So even that promise looks like it's slowly coming undone¹⁰. And it's not even been a year since they've been in power, so we may have interesting times ahead.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Diaa Hadid is in Kabul. Diaa, thank you very much.

HADID: Thank you, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

5 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。

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 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。

8 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

9 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

10 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。