VOA标准英语2009年-Suspected US Drone Kills Top Militant in P

By Sean Maroney
Islamabad
02 October 2009

 
Air Force MQ-9 Reaper¹ takes off from Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, 13 March 2009
Pakistani authorities say a suspected U.S. drone attack along the Afghan border is believed to have killed an Uzbek militant² leader with links to al-Qaida. 

Pakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. missile strike in South Waziristan in late August wounded Tahir Yuldashev and that he reportedly died a few days later.
 
Yuldashev was the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. He began fighting in the 1990s to topple Uzbekistan's government.

A Taliban spokesman has denied the report of Yuldashev's death.

The Taliban gave him refuge in northern Afghanistan, but after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, analysts⁴ believe Yuldashev and his fighters fled east into Pakistan's tribal⁵ regions.

Yuldashev had been involved in insurgencies in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan with the goal of creating an Islamist state across Central Asia.

If authorities are able to confirm Yuldashev's death, security analyst³ Khalid Aziz tells VOA that this would be a major blow to the militants⁶ operating in Pakistan's tribal regions.

Aziz says the power vacuum left by Yuldashev's death would provide a good opportunity to strike at his men and those of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, whose stronghold is believed to be in South Waziristan.

"For the last two months, there has been a blockade of this territory and obviously the Mehsouds are feeling the pinch," said Khalid Aziz.

The Pakistani military has already seen success in its prior campaign in and around Swat Valley targeting militants. But Aziz says he expects the military to change its strategy in the mountainous and isolated⁷ region of South Waziristan.

"We are going to see the first snowfall in that region, and it becomes even more difficult to fight there," he said. "So one foresees counter-terrorist operations rather than large-scale military operations as in Swat."

He says that type of strategy would drain the militants of their resources and put the military in a better position to respond to any threats that might arise elsewhere in the country.

The government insists it is not launching any major operation in South Waziristan at the moment. But U.N. officials say about 80,000 civilians⁸ have fled the tribal area in anticipation⁹ of a new military offensive.

1 reaper   

n.收割者，收割机

参考例句：

• The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
• A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。

2 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。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 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。

6 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。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 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。

9 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。