VOA标准英语2009年-Tamil Tigers Bomb Sri Lankan Capital

Sri Lankan military officials say Tamil rebels carried out an aerial bombing raid in the capital of Colombo late Friday.

A military spokesman said that shortly after the bombing, Sri Lanka's air force chased two rebel light aircraft and shot down one of them. Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the wreckage¹ and the body of the pilot were recovered. One plane crashed into a tax building, killing² at least two people and injuring 48 others.
　
Shots from air defense³ anti-aircraft gun light up the sky during attack by Tamil Tiger rebels in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 20 Feb 2009

Much of the city was blacked out briefly⁴ just before the attack as anti-aircraft fire lit up the night sky over Colombo and searchlights scanned for signs of more rebel planes.

Nanayakkara said at least one suspected Tamil Tiger aircraft attacked Colombo. One explosion was heard near the city's port, and another near the Cinnamon Grand, a luxury hotel in the heart of the city.

A third explosion was reported near the airport, about a 45-minute drive from the capital.

Nanayakkara said a government tax office had been hit by a bomb.

Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the executive director for the Center for Policy Alternatives, says the attacks were a bold move by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, most likely to show they are still a force to be reckoned with.

"Well, the LTTE clearly wants to show that they may be being knocked up, but they haven't been knocked out completely as yet and that they are capable of doing these things to cast some doubt on the extent to which their military capability⁵ has been destroyed," he said.

The attack comes as Sri Lanka's military closes in on what are believed to be the last of the rebel strongholds. Sri Lanka's government has claimed that the rebels are no longer capable of launching air attacks.

But security forces in the capital were on alert after a suspected Tiger Tamil aircraft was sighted northeast of capital hours before the attack.

1 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

2 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。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

5 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。