VOA标准英语2009年-3 Suspects Detained in Killing of 3 Sa

Fid Thompson | Dakar 29 December 2009

Authorities in Niger say three suspects were detained shortly after an attack Monday that killed three Saudi tourists and wounded three others. Officials said the attack happened near the western town of Djambala, northwest of the capital, Niamey, and near Niger's border with Mali.

Three Saudi travelers have been killed and another three seriously injured in an attack by unidentified assailants in northern Niger Monday.

The group of eight, including two Malian nationals, was traveling to Mali when they were attacked near the village of Djambala. Tuareg rebel groups and militants¹ associated with al-Qaida are reportedly operating in this area.

In a statement on national radio, Niger's Transport Minister Kassoum Moussa, condemned² the attack and offered its condolences to the Saudi Arabian government.

The wounded travelers were taken to the hospital in the capital, Niamey.

In January, Edwin Dyer and three other Europeans were captured as they drove in a convoy³ through the West African desert from Mali's nomadic⁴ culture festival towards Niger's border. The Algerian group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb killed Dyer after a second deadline passed on their demands for the release of a Jordanian held in Britain on terrorism charges.

A year ago al-Qaida operatives in Niger took a Canadian diplomat⁵ and two others hostage before releasing them several months later.

The group has since admitted to kidnapping two Italians in Mauritania earlier this month.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Niger attacks.
 

1 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。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

4 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。