FBI Trying to Secure Release of Civilians from 12 Countries

 

 

Nick Simeone

 

In Iraq, the FBI is involved in trying to secure the release of civilians¹ from 12 countries who have been taken hostage by Iraqi insurgents³. Four Italian security guards are the latest foreigners to be reported abducted⁵, while nine Americans still remain unaccounted for.

 

Coalition⁶ spokesman Dan Senor said 40 foreign civilians are being held hostage in Iraq. "The FBI is working with coalition forces and with Iraqi security forces to seek out the hostage takers and the hostages," he said. "We will not negotiate with terrorists and kidnappers⁸."

 

And he warned Iraqis and civilians in Iraq from coalition countries that terrorism may increase before and after the scheduled June 30 handover of power. "We recognize there will still be a major terror threat here after the Iraqi people have sovereignty," he added.

 

Meanwhile, about 2,500 coalition troops are poised¹⁰ to move into the Shiite holy city of Najaf where General Mark Kimmitt says anti-coalition militias¹¹ led by rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr pose a significant threat. "The force that is being brought in that region is powerful, it will be disciplined and it will be capable of conducting the full spectrum¹² of military operations," he said.

 

Those operations were put on hold while a Shiite pilgrimage to the city was underway. U.S. troops briefly¹³ detained a representative of the Shiite cleric at a Baghdad hotel Tuesday, but released him after judging him not to be a threat.

 

While coalition forces are trying to find him, Moqtada al-Sadr gave an interview to Lebanese television in which he urged his followers¹⁴ to continue fighting against the occupation even if he has to sacrifice his life for his country.

 

Meanwhile in western Iraq, resistance has been coming from Sunni fighters and more fighting broke out in the town of Fallujah with U.S. Marines using heavy weapons against insurgents. However, General Kimmitt said Marines have been generally observing a ceasefire. He added, "Many of these attacks that are being conducted by the enemy in Fallujah are meant to be provocative¹⁵."

 

At least two more American troops have been killed in Iraq during the past two days.

 

FBI  abbr. (Federal Bureau of Investigation) 美国联邦调查局

hostage [5hCstidV] n. 人质

Iraqi [i5rB:ki] adj. 伊拉克的

insurgent² [in5sE:dVEnt] n. 起义者

Italian [i5tAljEn] adj. 意大利的

abduct⁴ [Ab5dQkt] vt. 绑架

unaccounted for 未说明的

kidnapper⁷ [5kidnApE] n. 拐子，绑匪

handover [5hAndEuvE] n. 移交

poise⁹ [pCiz] vt. 使准备好

Shiite [5Fi:ait] n. 什叶派

Najaf [`nAdVAf] 纳贾夫［伊拉克中南部城市］（伊斯兰教什叶派圣地）

spectrum [5spektrEm] n. 范围

pilgrimage [5pil^rimidV] n. 朝圣

sacrifice [5sAkrifais] v. 牺牲

Sunni [5suni:] n. （伊斯兰）逊尼派

U.S. Marines  美国海军

provocative [prE5vCkEtiv] adj. 煽动的

1 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。

2 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。

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 abduct   

vt.诱拐，拐带，绑架

参考例句：

• The police caught the man who tried to abduct the boy for ransom.警察抓住了那个企图拐走这男孩以便勒索赎金的家伙。
• The news that we see those use network abduct children sometimes filled with apprehension.我们有时看到那些利用网络诱拐儿童的新闻都心惊肉跳。

5 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

6 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。

7 kidnapper   

n.绑架者，拐骗者

参考例句：

• The kidnapper was shot dead then and there by the armed policeman.绑架者被武装警察当时当地击毙。
• The kidnapper strangled the child with a piece of string.绑票的人用一根绳子把这孩子勒死了。

8 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 poise   

vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信

参考例句：

• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。
• Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。

10 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

11 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

12 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

13 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

14 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

15 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。