VOA标准英语2008年-Pakistani Taliban Claims Fighters Kidnapped 2 C

Pakistani Taliban militants¹ have claimed responsibility for kidnapping two Chinese engineers in northwest Pakistan last week. A Taliban spokesman said the kidnappings were retaliation² for the Pakistan military's offensive against the militants. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad.

The two Chinese telecommunications engineers disappeared with their Pakistani driver and guard on Friday.

Officials said they went missing after finishing work on a project in Dir district, located between the Swat valley and Bajaur tribal³ agency, where the military has been battling Taliban militants for weeks.

A spokesman for the loose network of pro-Taliban militants known as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan says a faction⁴ of the group in Swat has custody⁵ of the men.

Muslim Khan told VOA there are two main reasons why the engineers were targeted.

He said that the government has been attacking our women and children and this is retaliation. He also claimed China pressured the Pakistani government to launch last year's deadly raid on Islamabad's radical⁶ Red Mosque⁷, after mosque students kidnapped several Chinese nationals working in the capital city.

In Beijing, China's foreign ministry⁸ said it has asked the Pakistani government to clarify what happened and rescue the two engineers. Pakistani officials have launched a search for the workers.

China is a strong military and economic partner of Pakistan, and several Chinese workers have been targeted by Taliban militants in recent years.

Meanwhile, the top official in Pakistan's interior ministry says the military's suspended offensive against Taliban militants in the Bajaur tribal agency should allow many of those displaced by the fighting to return home for Ramadan.

Rehman Malik told reporters Monday that 500,000 people fled the violence, but troops now control key checkpoints throughout the region and will still retaliate⁹ against the militants if necessary.

"We will be watching them. If there is any training movement or any regrouping or reenergizing - any firing on a police officer or a civilian¹⁰, we will react," Malik said.

He said that so far, about 30,000 people have returned to their homes in Bajaur.

1 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。

2 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

4 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

5 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

8 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。

9 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

10 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。