VOA标准英语2009年-30 Afghan Civilians Killed in Roadside Bom

By Sean Maroney
Islamabad
29 September 2009

 Local officials in southern Afghanistan say a roadside bomb blasted a passenger bus Tuesday, killing¹ 30 civilians³ and wounding at least 39 others. The latest violence comes days after a U.N. report declared August the deadliest month of the year for civilians in Afghanistan. 

The Afghan government is blaming the Taliban for the latest attack outside the southern city of Kandahar.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed dozens of civilians, including women and children riding on the bus.

Afghan presidential spokesman Humayoon Hamedzada says authorities are investigating.

"We are deeply sorry for the loss of life, but our provincial⁴ authorities and the security agencies have received instructions to complete the investigations," Hamedzada said.

Tuesday's explosion occurred just west of the city on a highway where a similar blast killed three civilians a day earlier.

Late last week, the United Nations issued a report that said it had recorded some 1,500 civilian² casualties between January and August. August was this year's deadliest month, as the Taliban sought to discourage people from voting in the presidential election.

The report also said almost three times as many civilian deaths were attributed to anti-government elements than to pro-government forces.

The spokesman for international forces in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Colonel Wayne Shanks, says NATO troops are working with local populations to clear the roads of Taliban bombs.

"Every time [the Taliban kills] innocent civilians, they are hurting themselves," Shanks said. "Just like if we make a mistake and we hurt innocent civilians, we are hurting ourselves. And we are trying to absolutely fix that."

Meanwhile in Pakistan, authorities say another suspected U.S. missile strike targeted militants⁵ in South Waziristan. Officials believe the insurgents⁶ in Pakistan's tribal⁷ regions have ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida and use the area as a base of operations for strikes in Afghanistan against foreign troops.

1 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。

2 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。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

5 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。

6 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

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。