VOA标准英语2009年-At Least 10 Coalition Troops Killed in Eas

By Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
04 October 2009

A militant¹ assault in an eastern border region of Afghanistan has left eight American and several Afghan soldiers dead. Taliban insurgents² claimed responsibility for the violence, saying they have also captured several Afghan policemen in what is being described as the deadliest raid on coalition³ forces for more than a year.

Afghan authorities say the attack took place in the eastern Nuristan province, which borders Pakistan and is a known heaven for al-Qaida as well as Taliban extremists.

The fighting erupted early on Saturday after scores of heavily armed insurgents streaming from a local mosque⁴ and nearby village raided two remote coalition outposts in the Kamdesh district.

Speaking to VOA, U.S Army Colonel Wayne Shanks confirmed eight American soldiers died in the fighting. 

"This was a significant battle and fight that lasted most of the day. There was heavy fighting on both the sides," Shanks said. "We used all the firepower that we had at our disposal to include close air support, attack helicopters. The men on the ground, both the Afghan and the U.S coalition, fought and kept the ground and they hold the ground right now."

Coalition area commanders say the Afghan and U.S soldiers "fought bravely together" to repulse⁵ what they have described as "a complex attack in a difficult area". The military says it has inflicted⁶ heavy enemy casualties.

Shanks says coalition forces are patrolling the area to discourage further militant attacks.

A Taliban spokesman is reported to have claimed responsibility for the militant raid, saying they have also taken a large number of policemen in custody⁷. But the claim could not be verified independent.

This is the second-deadliest attack U.S-led coalition forces have suffered in the region in more than a year. Nine American soldiers were killed when their newly set up outpost in the area was raided by Taliban fighters in July 2008. Insurgents have stepped up attacks in eastern Afghanistan recently in an effort to spread the violence beyond their traditional strongholds in the south.

There are more than 100,000 NATO and U.S forces in the country to quell⁸ the Taliban insurgency⁹. But the security situation has worsened in Afghanistan particularly since the beginning of this year. The U.S commander of the international forces, General Stanley McChrystal, is said to have requested additional troops to deal with what he has described a serious situation.

1 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。

2 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

3 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。

4 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。

5 repulse   

n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝

参考例句：

• The armed forces were prepared to repulse any attacks.武装部队已作好击退任何进攻的准备。
• After the second repulse,the enemy surrendered.在第二次击退之后，敌人投降了。

6 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

7 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。

8 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网