2007年VOA标准英语-Suicide Bomber Attacks Military Bus in Kabul, K

By Daniel Schearf
Islamabad
29 September 2007

A suicide bomber¹ has attacked an Afghan army bus in Kabul, killing² at least 30 people and wounding more than 20. As Daniel Schearf reports for VOA from Islamabad, attacks in the Afghan capital are on the rise.

The suicide attack occurred Saturday morning on a crowded Afghan National Army bus. An Interior Minister spokesman said the bomber was dressed in an army uniform and boarded the bus before detonating his explosives.

The blast blew the bus to pieces, killing at least 27 people, most of them Afghan soldiers, and wounding at least 21. Several civilians³ were among the dead and wounded, and nearby shops were badly damaged.

Zemarai Bashary, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Interior Ministry⁴, says officials thought security in the Afghan capital was good, but an attack by a bomber wearing an army uniform is a new phenomenon.

"These are the enemies of Afghanistan, these are the enemies of the peace and stability and prosperity and development of Afghanistan. Whoever they are, they are terrorists. They are breeding terror and fear inside the people," said Bashary.

Bashary declined to say who was suspected of carrying out the attack, but a purported⁵ Taleban spokesman said the Taleban was responsible.

Attacks inside the Afghan capital had been rare, but this year there have been several. In June a police academy bus in Kabul was bombed, killing 35 people. That was the deadliest bombing in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led overthrow⁶ of the Taleban government in 2001.

Suicide bombings are on the rise in general in Afghanistan. There have already been more than 100 this year, compared with only 17 in 2005.

U.S. officials say the Taleban have resorted to terror tactics out of desperation as coalition⁷ forces have stepped up operations against them.

Taleban militants⁸ abducted⁹ four Red Cross employees Wednesday as they were trying to negotiate the release of a German hostage held by the insurgents¹⁰ since July. The kidnappers¹¹ have already executed a second German hostage.

Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces say they killed 169 Taleban insurgents earlier this week after coming under attack during combat patrols in the south. One coalition soldier was reported killed during the battles.

1 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。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 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。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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

11 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》