19 Dead, 26 Wounded in Uzbek Explosions

（单词翻译）

Anya Ardayeva

Uzbekistan's prosecutor-general, Rashid Kadyrov, said the first explosion tore apart a house in the central province of Bukhara on Sunday night. He said the building served as a meeting point for religious extremists.

Meanwhile, Uzbek police were attacked Sunday night and early Monday and at least three officers were killed. At mid-morning on Monday, authorities said, two suicide bombers¹ blew themselves up near the Chorsu market in the Old City of the capital, Tashkent. Three policemen and a child were reported killed.

According to Mr. Kadyrov, the attacks were carried out by Islamic extremists, such as the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir group and the followers² of the strict Wahhabi sect³ of Islam. He said a preliminary investigation⁴ shows all the bombings were linked.

The prosecutor-general also indicated he thought terrorists from other countries could have been involved in the attacks. As he put it, "The character and method of this act is not common to our people. It was probably exported from abroad."

Earlier, Uzbek Foreign Ministry⁵ spokesman Ilkhom Zakirov said several people have already been arrested in connection with the bombings and that police had begun questioning them.

In February 1999, a series of bombings in Tashkent killed 16 and injured more than 100 people. Officials blamed those explosions on the militant⁶ group Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which has been linked to the al-Qaida terror network.

Uzbekistan provided a vital airbase for U.S. troops during its military operations in Afghanistan, which followed terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.

注释:
Uzbekistan [7uzbeki5stB:n] n. 乌兹别克共和国，苏联中亚南部的加盟共和国。1917年分裂成许多行政区域，1924年联合成一个加盟共和国，首都是塔什干。
prosecutor-general 检察部长
Bukhara [bu5kB:rE] 布哈拉，中亚苏联南部，萨曼堪德以西的一个城市，是亚洲最古老的文化和贸易中心之一。
blow up v. 爆炸
Tashkent [tAF5kent] 塔什干，乌兹别克共和国首都，原苏联中亚部分南部一城市，位于阿拉木图西南偏西方。
Hizb-ut-Tahrir group 伊斯兰解放党
Wahhabi sect（伊斯兰教）瓦哈比教派，因其严格遵守可兰经而闻名，主要影响在于阿拉伯地区。
Islam. [5izlB:m] n. 伊斯兰教
preliminary [pri5liminEri] adj. 初步的
vital [5vaitl] adj. 至关重要的
airbase [5ZEbeis] n. 空军基地