Obama says Algeria hostage crisis another reminder of terror threat

 　　WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday condemned¹ the terrorist attack in Algeria leading to the deaths of 23 hostages, calling it another reminder² of the threat posed by al-Qaeda and other violent extremist groups in North Africa.

　　"The blame for this tragedy rests with the terrorists who carried it out, and the United States condemns³ their actions in the strongest possible terms," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House.

　　This was the first public comment made by the U.S. president over the hostage crisis in Algeria, where al-Qaeda affiliated⁴ militants⁵ on Wednesday attacked and kidnapped hundreds of Algerian and foreign workers at a gas complex near In Amenas in eastern Algeria, in a bid to avenge⁶ Algeria's support for French involvement in the conflict in neighboring Mali.

　　"The attack is another reminder of the threat posed by al-Qaeda and other violent extremist groups in North Africa," Obama said, adding that the U.S. government will continue to work closely with its partners to combat the scourge⁷ of terrorism in the region.

　　Obama also said the U.S. government has been in constant contact with Algerian officials and pledged to "stand ready to provide whatever assistance they need in the aftermath of this attack.""In the coming days, we will remain in close touch with the Government of Algeria to gain a fuller understanding of what took place so that we can work together to prevent tragedies like this in the future," he added.

　　Algerian troops have launched successive raids on the gas complex since Thursday in an attempt to rescue the hostages, with the final assault Saturday to end the four-day standoff.

　　According to media reports, a total of 23 hostages, including an American, and 32 militants were killed during the raids,while 685 Algerian workers and 107 foreign nationals were freed.

1 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。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

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 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

7 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。