Many die in Afghan tanker blasts

At least 90 people have been killed after a Nato air strike blew up two fuel tankers² hijacked³ by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan, officials say.

Nato confirmed(确认) to the BBC that an air strike happened in Kunduz province on the main road to Baghlan.

The governor of Kunduz told the BBC senior Taliban commanders were killed. Witnesses said villagers also died.

A spokesman for the Nato-led coalition⁴ said it was investigating reports of civilian⁵ deaths.

A Taliban spokesman confirmed to the BBC that its fighters had stolen two Nato fuel tankers on Thursday night, which then got stuck, although he did not say how.

The Taliban decided⁶ to empty the tankers and local people arrived to take some of the fuel, he said.

At this point, a Nato air strike hit the tankers causing a huge explosion.

An International Security Assistance Force (Isaf)（国际安全援助部队） spokesman in Kabul told the BBC that Isaf forces had spotted⁷ the hijacked tankers on the banks of the Kunduz river and the local commander ordered an air strike in which both tankers were destroyed.

 

ANALYSIS Chris Morris, BBC News, Afghanistan If it emerges that a number of civilians8 have been killed then that will obviously be very disappointing to Nato. The issue of civilian casualties caused by international military action is extremely sensitive here. It has caused great anger. It is something military commanders have said they are determined9 to clamp down on, because they say if they win territory and not the people then they are not doing their job.

The spokesman said a number of "insurgents¹⁰" were killed.

One of the drivers of the tankers told the BBC that two of his colleagues had been beheaded when the Taliban carried out the hijacking¹¹.

Kunduz province Governor Mohammad Omar said most of the dead were Taliban fighters - including Chechen fighters - although other sources say many villagers had been killed while collecting fuel from the tankers.

Seriously burned people are crowding a hospital in Kunduz, AFP reported.

Rush for fuel

Witness Mohammad Daud, 32, told AFP that the militants¹² had been trying to transport the tankers across a river to villages in Angorbagh.

"They managed to take one of the tankers over the river. The second got stuck so they told villagers to come and take the diesel," he said.

"Villagers rushed to the fuel tanker¹ with any available container that they had, including water buckets and pots for cooking oil.

"There were 10 to 15 Taliban on top of the tanker. This was when they were bombed. Everyone around the fuel tanker died."

The incident came days after the top US general in Afghanistan reiterated¹³ calls for a fresh approach to the conflict.

"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation¹⁴ strategy（战略）, commitment and resolve, and increased unity¹⁵ of effort," Gen Stanley McChrystal wrote. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

2 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

3 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 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。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

8 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。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 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

11 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

12 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。

13 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

14 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

15 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。