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　　Police in Afghanistan are said to have killed a group of suicide bombers¹ on Saturday just when they were about to hit targets in an eastern city bordering Pakistan. Four people, including two policemen are reported wounded. The stepped violence comes ahead of next month's presidential election in Afghanistan. But U.S special envoy² for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, says the Taliban insurgency³ should not discourage anyone from taking part in the poll.
有消息说，星期六阿富汗警方在东部一个同巴基斯坦接壤城镇打死了一批自杀炸弹杀手，当时这些炸弹杀手正在准备向目标发起攻击。据报导，包括两名警察在内的四人受伤。这次严重暴力事件是在下月阿富汗总统选举前发生的。不过，美国驻巴基斯坦和阿富汗特使理查德.霍尔布鲁克表示，塔利班反叛份子阻挡不了人们参加投票。
Witnesses and officials say that a group of seven suicide bombers was involved in the simultaneous attacks on police headquarters and other targets in the eastern city of Khost.
现场人士和有关官员说，七名自杀炸弹杀手准备同时袭击东部城市霍斯特警察总部等目标。
Interior Ministry⁴ spokesman Zamary Bashary tells VOA the attackers were also carrying automatic weapons. However, he says, an active Afghan police force was able to prevent the militants⁵ from causing serious damage.
阿富汗内政部发言人巴沙里对美国之音说，这些袭击者还携带了自动武器。不过，巴沙里说，正在值勤的一名阿富汗警察有效阻止了这些武装份子造成更严重的破坏。
"Police of Khost province were able to identify and kill all these seven bombers prior to their arrival to their targets, which shows a change in the capacity of the Afghan national police and a growing capacity in their understanding and in their ability," he said.
巴沙里说，“霍斯特省警方在七名炸弹杀手到达目标前认出并将他们全部击毙，从而表明阿富汗国民警察能力上的变化，表明他们的识别能力正在逐渐提高。”
Less than a week ago, 13 suspected suicide bombers tried to carry out near simultaneous assaults on government buildings in three neighboring Afghan provinces - Nangarhar, Nimroz and Paktia. But police killed most of them just before the militants tried to blow themselves up. At least eight people, mostly security personnel, were killed in those attacks.
近三个星期以前，13名涉嫌自杀炸弹杀手曾经试图在阿富汗三个邻近省份几乎同时对政府建筑物发起攻击。但是，大部分炸弹袭击者准备引爆身上炸弹时被警察打死。袭击中至少有8人被打死，其中大部分是保安人员。
Interior Ministry spokesman Bashary says that militants seem to have changed their tactics in recent days but he says that killing⁷ of 20 suicide bombers in less than a week shows the strength and skills of the Afghan national police are also growing.
In recent months, Taliban insurgents⁸ have stepped up attacks in Afghanistan. In addition to killing dozens of civilians⁹ the violence has left at least 66 international troops dead in July, making it the bloodiest¹⁰ month of the nearly eight-year U.S-led anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan.
最近几个月来，塔利班反叛份子加强了阿富汗境内的袭击活动。暴力事件除了造成数十名平民死亡外，还在7月份使至少66名外国部队人员丧生，7月因此成为美国领导的阿富汗反恐战役以来死伤最严重的月份。
The increased violence comes as thousands of U.S Marines and coalition¹¹ forces engage in major anti-insurgency operations in southern Afghan provinces, including Helmand, where Taliban fighters have their strongholds. The offensive is part of an effort to improve security in southern Afghanistan ahead of the presidential election on August 20.
上述暴力事件逐步升级之际，数千名美国海军陆战队以及联军部队，在阿富汗南部包括赫尔曼德在内的省份，发起了针对反叛份子的一系列重大战役，塔利班战斗人员在这些省份拥有据点。这次进攻行动是8月20号总统选举前改善阿富汗南部安全形势努力的组成部分。
Saturday's militant⁶ attacks came as visiting U.S special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, discussed election preparations in Kabul with local authorities and commanders of the U.S-led international forces.
武装份子星期六发动袭击之际，到访的美国驻巴基斯坦和阿富汗特使霍尔布鲁克，在喀布尔同地方当局以及美国为首的国际部队就选举的筹备进行了磋商。
Speaking to reporters in the Afghan capital Saturday, Mr. Holbrooke acknowledged that the Afghan election faces "unprecedented¹² and complex challenges. But he hoped poor security will not discourage voters to take part in the poll.
霍尔布鲁克星期六在阿富汗首都向新闻界发表讲话时承认，阿富汗选举面临“前所未有以及复杂的挑战”。不过他希望， 恶劣的安全形势不会阻止选民参加投票。
"What do you want the Afghan people to do? To abandon the election because of some threats from a small minority of Taliban? Impossible. So you hold the best election you can under the circumstances. It is not going to be perfect." he said. "But nobody's going to back down in the face of this intimidation¹³ and 41 candidates including two women millions of new registered [voters]. That tells a lot about what the people of Afghanistan want."
霍尔布鲁克说，“人们希望阿富汗人民作什么呢？难道由于有小股少数的塔利班的一些威胁而放弃选举吗？这是不可能的。因此，要在现有条件下尽最大能力举办这次选举，选举不会完美无缺。然而谁也不会被恫吓吓倒，包括两名妇女在内的41名候选人也不会在数百万登记选民面临退缩。这种情况充分说明，阿富汗人民所希望的到底是什么。”
Holbrooke said that the United States and coalition forces have devised a strategy to help the Afghan authorities ensure the presidential election is safe and secure. He reiterated¹⁴ that the United States does not support or oppose any candidate in the Afghan election and is only supporting democracy in Afghanistan.
霍尔布鲁克说，美国和联军部队制定了多种战略，以帮助阿富汗当局确保总统选举的安全。他还重申，美国在这次阿富汗选举中，既不支持也不反对任何候选人，而只是支持阿富汗的民主制度。