VOA标准英语2009年-Afghanistan: NATO Strike Kills 7 Afghan Se

By Sean Maroney
Kabul
07 November 2009

 
A US Army Chinook helicopter lands on a hill in Kabul on November 7, 2009
The Afghan government says a NATO air strike has mistakenly killed seven members of the Afghan security forces in Badghis province. 

NATO and Afghan forces are investigating the incident in western Afghanistan that killed members of the country's army and police.

Earlier, NATO said 25 international and Afghan soldiers were wounded in the area. Officials initially¹ blamed "insurgent² activity" for the casualties, but later said it was possible the soldiers were hit by friendly fire.

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry³ spokesman Zamary Bashary tells VOA that this is a sad incident.

"We have lost forces that are fighting in order to bring security for Afghanistan.  But such attacks will never deter⁴ our partnership⁵ [with international forces].  This is clear that this was a mistake," he said.

He added that incidents such as this one are rare, especially after the United States imposed new restrictions⁶ on air strikes in an effort to avoid civilian⁷ casualties.

"The new strategy actually has worked, and it has reduced the number of civilian casualties," he said.

The troops were conducting an operation to find two missing U.S. soldiers who are believed to have drowned.

Local police officials say the two soldiers were swept away Wednesday while trying to save supply boxes that fell into the water after being air-dropped.

This year has been the deadliest for international troops in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban-led government in 2001.

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

3 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。

4 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 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。