AS IT IS 2016-05-18 IS Delivers More Deadly Bombings in Iraq

AS IT IS 2016-05-18 IS Delivers More Deadly Bombings in Iraq

Islamic State militants² are again using bombs to attack Baghdad and other parts of Iraq.

A number of bombings struck markets across the Iraqi capital on Tuesday. At least 68 people were killed and more than 100 others wounded.

The deadliest attack happened in the al-Shaab area in northern Baghdad. Officials say a suicide attacker set off explosives in a busy market. At least 34 people were killed. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Also on Tuesday, a car bomb exploded in the Rashid neighborhood south of Baghdad.

In the past, Islamic State militants have mainly used suicide vests when setting off explosions. But since April, the militants have produced larger explosions with vehicle-born improvised³ explosive devices, also known as IEDs.

Some Middle East watchers see the shift from vests to car bombs as a sign that the Iraqi security forces are failing to protect Iraqi citizens. In addition to fighting the Islamic State, the security forces have to deal with political protests against the Iraqi government.

Patrick Martin is with the Institute for the Study of War, a group based in Washington, D.C. Martin said he believes the car bombings are aimed at harming an increasingly weak government.

He said the attacks could hurt already tense relations between the government and protesters, especially if the government cannot guarantee security in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said he believes the militant¹ group is seeking to use his country’s political crisis to support its push for an Islamic caliphate.

U.S. and Iraqi officials said they believe the latest attacks show that Islamic State is weak and desperate. They said the group is fighting back with bigger bombings after recent losses on the battlefield.

Iraqi officials said the latest car bombings have been directed at civilian⁴ targets, like shopping centers and other business areas.

The group also used car bombs to attack a natural gas plant in northern Baghdad on Sunday. The attack forced two power stations to stop producing electricity.

Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition⁵ have pushed back Islamic State militants in recent months. On Monday, a U.S. Defense⁶ Department spokesman spoke⁷ to reporters about the fight against the group. He said IS has now lost 45 percent of territory it once controlled in Iraq, and between 16 and 20 percent in Syria.

Brett McGurk is U.S. President Barack Obama’s special representative to the international coalition fighting the Islamic State. In Jordan on Sunday, McGurk said the militant group is now retreating.

“And now the caliphate, as they call it, this perverse⁸ caliphate, is shrinking. So they are very much on the defensive⁹.”

McGurk said after losing the territory, Islamic State is reacting like it has in the past, by increasing its bombing campaign.

“So their territory is shrinking, and they are now doing these suicide attacks against civilian populations. It’s not going to work, but that’s what they are trying to do.”

McGurk said the coalition will not let up its pressure on IS in Iraq and Syria. He said progress is being made to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul and Raqqa in Syria from Islamic State.

But some observers are downplaying the territory recently won by the U.S.-led coalition.

Terrorism expert Greg Barton of Australia’s Deakin University told VOA that much of the land IS has given up is not very important.

“The big question now is, how do you take cities like Mosul and Raqqa back, without horrible things happening to the people who are effectively hostages held against their own will?”

Words in This Story

vest – n. a garment worn on the upper part of the body

shift – n. a change in position or direction

desperate – adj. extremely bad, serious or dangerous

retreat – v. to move back or withdrawal¹⁰

caliphate – n. the area ruled by a caliph

perverse – adj. contrary to accepted or expected standard of practice

downplay – v. to make something appear less important than it really is

1 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。

2 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。

3 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。