VOA标准英语2009年-Gunmen Kill Pakistani Army Officer in Isla

By Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
22 October 2009

 
Police officer drives away army jeep with bulletholes splattered on windshield, after attacked by gunmen in Islamabad, 22 oct 2009
Police in Pakistan say that unknown gunmen shot and killed a senior army officer and his driver in Islamabad. The attack is the second this week in the city and the violence is seen as retaliation¹ for the ongoing² military offensive against Taliban extremists in their stronghold of the South Waziristan region, near the Afghan border.

Police say the early-morning attack took place in a residential³ part of the city, where assailants ambushed⁴ a military vehicle carrying a senior officer of the Pakistani military.

An eyewitness⁵ says two men took part in the assault that instantly killed the driver and the army officer.

The eyewitness says the attackers were armed with automatic weapons and riding a motor bike. He says they sprayed the vehicle with bullets and fled the scene. The slain⁶ army officer's security guard was wounded in the attack.

Chief of the Islamabad police, Kaleem Immam, told reporters the army officer was based in Sudan and had arrived in the country only four days ago, to mourn the death of his father-in-law. He blamed Taliban extremists for what he calls "a terrorist act." The police chief says the assassination⁷ is a reaction to the ongoing military offensive against militant⁸ bases in the Waziristan region.

"The war against terror is on and this is what the dissidents are up to and this is what they will be doing," Immam said. "But the law-enforcing agencies -- the army and the police -- are trying to do whatever is in the best in their capacity. We have nabbed a number criminals and, Inshallah [God willing], we will nab the assailants of today episode also."

The police officer says authorities are hunting the killers⁹. Religious seminaries, known as madrassas, and mosques¹⁰ in the capital city are are also being searched.

Tuesday, two suicide bombers¹¹ struck at Islamabad's International Islamic University, killing¹² six people, mostly female students. Many others were wounded.

Since Saturday's launching a major ground offensive against Taliban bases in the South Waziristan tribal¹³ region Pakistani authorities have tightened¹⁴ security in the capital city and elsewhere in the country. The government has also closed educational institutions, fearing retaliatory¹⁵ militant attacks.

Prominent Pakistani analyst¹⁶ Hassan Askari says the attacks in Islamabad show the insurgents¹⁷ are able to strike wherever they want, to spread terror.

"The message of the terrorists is very clear," Askari said. "They want, first, demonstrate their capacity to take on the authorities, the state and the society, at a place of their choosing. And, the other objective is to divert the attention of the security agencies from South Waziristan, where the actual fight is going on, to the main cities, so that the pressure on South Waziristan is eased."

Army officials say the offensive in the Waziristan region has made significant advances, killing at least 115 militants¹⁸. Sixteen soldiers also have lost their lives in the intense fighting. Some 30,000 Pakistan troops are fighting an estimated 10,000 al-Qaida-linked militants, including foreigners. The militants are also believed to be involved in cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

The government launched the anti-Taliban operation after a string of deadly attacks, across Pakistan, left scores of people dead. This included an assault on the military's headquarters in Rawalpindi that killed more than a dozen soldiers and nine attackers.

1 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》

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

4 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

6 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 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。

9 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

10 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

11 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 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。

14 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

15 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

16 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。

17 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

18 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。