VOA标准英语2009年-Commandos Free 39 Hostages, Ending Militan

By Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
11 October 2009

 
Pakistan troops take positions close to its army's headquarters after attack by gunmen at army's headquarters in Rawalpindi, 10 Oct 2009
Military officials in Pakistan say the siege near the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad, is over. Commando forces raided a building where militants² were holding more than 30 hostages just before dawn Sunday. Four militants, two soldiers and three hostages were killed during the operation. Another wounded militant¹ was captured.

The violence began just before midday Saturday when a group of heavily armed militants in army uniforms tried to enter the Pakistani military headquarters. As soon as they were stopped at a main check post, the attackers lobbed several grenades and opened fire with automatic weapons on the soldiers there. A firefight erupted, instantly killing³ six soldiers and five militants.

The rest of the attackers fled during the firefight and took hostage more than 30 people, mostly security personnel, in a nearby building.

 
Pakistani army helicopters fly over headquarters after attack by gunmen in Rawalpindi, 10 Oct 2009 
Army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas says that commando forces immediately surrounded the compound in an effort to secure the safe release of the hostages. He says the crisis lasted until Sunday morning when security forces raided the building and managed to free most of the captives.

Abbas said, "All the hostages there have been rescued. Three of them have been killed. We have killed four terrorists and one, Aqeel alias⁴ Doctor Usman, has been captured (in wounded condition)."

The army spokesman says he believes the detained militant led the terrorist assault.

General Abbas says that two soldiers were also killed and at least five were wounded in the rescue operation. He says security forces where being extremely careful in launching the final raid because a suicide bomber⁵ was guarding the hostages in a corner of the building.

Abbas said, "The most damaging could have been this suicide bomber who was putting on the (suicide) jacket if had blown himself up. So the whole security operation revolved⁶ around this point to eliminate this terrorist before he could blow his jacket and the security forces were very successful in eliminating this terrorist before he could blow up his jacket."

 
People rush to the site of a suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, 09 Oct 2009
Authorities are blaming Taliban extremists for the attack. The Pakistani military is fighting al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the tribal⁷ regions bordering Afghanistan where they are believed to have set up terrorist training camps.

Saturday's attack on the military headquarters is the third major terrorist strike in Pakistan in the past week. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside the main office of the United Nations World Food Program in Islamabad last week, killing five employees of the agency. And on Friday, a suicide car bomb in the northwestern city of Peshawar left more than 50 people dead.

Analysts⁸ say the latest attack is likely to push Pakistan to launch a long-awaited military offensive against terrorist bases in the Waziristan tribal region, which is also being used to launch attacks on international forces across the border in Afghanistan.

 

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 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。

3 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。

4 alias   

n.化名；别名；adv.又名

参考例句：

• His real name was Johnson,but he often went by the alias of Smith.他的真名是约翰逊，但是他常常用化名史密斯。
• You can replace this automatically generated alias with a more meaningful one.可用更有意义的名称替换这一自动生成的别名。

5 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。

6 revolved   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The fan revolved slowly. 电扇缓慢地转动着。
• The wheel revolved on its centre. 轮子绕中心转动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 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。