2007年VOA标准英语-Violence Kills 41 Outside Baghdad, US Troops Co

By Barry Newhouse
Irbil
16 May 2007

A car bomb in the violent Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, has killed at least 32 people and wounded dozens more. South of the capital, in Nasiriyah, Iraqi officials say fighting between Iraqi military units and Shi'ite gunmen loyal to cleric Moqtada al Sadr has killed at least nine people. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from northern Iraq that U.S. and Iraqi forces are continuing a massive search for three missing American soldiers.

volatile1 Diyala province lie at hospital beds in in Sadr City Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, 16 May 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070605/1634130.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Injured Iraqis from the village of Abu Saydah in the volatile Diyala province lie at hospital beds in in Sadr City Shiite district in Baghdad, Iraq, 16 May 2007

The car bomb detonated in a market in the town of Abu Saydah in Diyala province. Residents have reported breathing problems, indicating the bomb may have dispersed² poisonous fumes³, such as chlorine gas which has been used in similar attacks.

U.S. military commanders have sent additional troops to Diyala in recent weeks, blaming a rise in violence on insurgents⁵ fleeing the security operation in Baghdad.

Major General William Caldwell told reporters in Baghdad that although additional forces have been sent to Diyala to help counter the insurgents, U.S. commanders are still focused on securing the capital.

"If in fact there are insurgent⁴ elements, outlaws⁶, illegal groups that move out of the Baghdad area that allow for the conditions where economic progress, political progress, governance progress can take place and be established. What is key to all of this is the enduring piece of it," he said.

The new Baghdad security plan calls for clearing areas of the city of insurgents and then setting up security stations to ensure militants⁷ do not return.

A new U.S. government report indicates that the increased number of U.S. troops and the new tactics of the Baghdad security plan have had little effect on the overall number of attacks in the country. The report from the Government Accountability Office is based on U.S. military data, and says there were an average of 157 attacks each day in March, and 149 per day in April.

Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers continue to search for three missing troops who are believed to have been captured by al-Qaida militants in an ambush⁸ Saturday.

General Caldwell said commanders will evaluate the conditions that led to the soldiers capture, but right now the focus is on finding them.

"I cannot promise you the results that we are all praying for, but I can promise you that we and our Iraqi counterparts are doing everything we can to find out soldiers," said General Caldwell.

The general said coalition⁹ forces have questioned about 600 people and detained 11 during the search.

U.S. commanders say the effort includes surveillance aircraft, spy satellites and house to house searches in the rural, predominantly Sunni, area south of Baghdad where the soldiers went missing.

1 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

2 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

3 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

4 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。

5 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

6 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

7 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。

8 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

9 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。