突尼斯武装袭击事件

 　　CAIRO—Gunmen opened fire at one of the Tunisian capital's top tourism sites on Wednesday in an attack that left at least 22 people dead, mainly foreign visitors.

　　Prime Minster Habib Essid said two armed assailants wearing military-style uniforms "hunted and chased down" tourists at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis before taking a small group captive.

　　Two attackers were killed in the ensuing police operation that freed the hostages; Tunisian authorities say they are searching for up to three possible accomplices¹. It remains² unclear who the gunmen are.

　　Tunisia Museum Death Toll³ Climbs to 22

　　Among the dead are at least 17 tourists, including victims from Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and two Tunisians, Essid said during a press conference. More than two dozen others were injured.

　　Tunisian television showed images of older tourists and children fleeing the scene under the cover of armed security forces. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry⁴ said at least 100 people were inside the museum at the time of the attack.

　　Nearby, the Tunisian parliament was evacuated⁶. Lawmakers were meeting at the time of the attack to debate anti-terrorism legislation.

　　Member of Parliament Sayida Ounissi said the minister of justice, judges and several army officials were inside the building. She posted on Twitter during the evacuation, "we are not afraid."

　　Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, who visited victims of the attack in a Tunis hospital Wednesday afternoon, told AFP "the authorities have taken all measures to ensure that such things don't happen" again.

　　In a television address to the nation Wednesday evening, Essebsi said, "I want the people of Tunisia to understand firstly and lastly that we are in a war with terror, and these savage⁷ minority groups will not frighten us.''

　　The United States is among several countries to condemn⁸ the killings¹⁰.

　　"We commend Tunisian authorities’ rapid response to today’s wanton violence and their efforts to resolve the hostage situation and restore calm," Secretary of State John Kerry said in an emailed statement. "The United States stands with the Tunisian people at this difficult time."

　　French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the attack an act of terrorism.

　　"This attack cruelly illustrates¹¹ the threat that we are all confronted with in Europe, in the Mediterranean¹², around the world," Valls said. "France, Tunisia and Europe will act together to fight terrorism."

　　Cairo-based political sociologist¹³ Said Sadek told VOA that militants¹⁵ in Tunisia have in the past targeted security forces, making Wednesday’s attack especially disturbing.

　　“Terrorists pick targets because they know it will have certain impacts. It’s not just killing⁹ unknown tourists in a museum. They want to kill Tunisia," said Sadek. "They want to kill the economy of Tunisia. So this is really the target."

　　While it’s not yet clear who is responsible for the attack, Sadek says its likely one of many militant¹⁴ groups that have flourished since 2011, when Arab Spring uprooted¹⁶ the country’s security apparatus¹⁷ as weapons poured out of neighboring Libya.

　　The increasing availability and sophistication of weapons in the region, he added, have made it possible for a large attack to be conducted by a small number of militants.

　　Other analysts¹⁸ said the attack not only targeted Tunisia's tourism sector¹⁹ but was a response to the government’s recent crackdown on supporters of the Islamic State group.

　　Yan St. Pierre, CEO of the Berlin-based security firm MOSECON, said the museum's physical proximity²⁰ to parliament could have could be what made it an enticing²¹ target for militants who sought to disrupt the work of government — members of parliament were scheduled to pass even tougher anti-terrorism laws on Wednesday.

　　“It allowed them to disrupt voting on that bill," St. Pierre said. "They succeeded. They had to evacuate⁵ parliament because of the attack on the Bardo."

　　St. Pierre believes the attack could have the long-term impact of making the Tunisian government, which he said remains in transition, even more fragile.

　　Members of parliament were scheduled to reconvene Wednesday night in an extraordinary session.

　　But St. Pierre added that as chaos²² in neighboring Libya only deepens regional insecurity, he expects terrorist attacks on soft targets to continue.

　　HuffPost Tunisia journalist Emilie Gline said that with tourism season in Tunis about to start, the timing²³ could not be worse for the country's economy.

　　“It’s always surprising when something like that happens when you are sitting in Tunisia," Gline said. Even if we knew there was a risk about an attack, we were surprised."

1 accomplices   

从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was given away by one of his accomplices. 他被一个同伙出卖了。
• The chief criminals shall be punished without fail, those who are accomplices under duress shall go unpunished and those who perform deeds of merIt'shall be rewarded. 首恶必办， 胁从不问，立功受奖。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

7 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

8 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

9 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。

10 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

11 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

12 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

13 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

14 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

15 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。

16 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

19 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

20 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

21 enticing   

adj.迷人的；诱人的

参考例句：

• The offer was too enticing to refuse. 这提议太有诱惑力，使人难以拒绝。
• Her neck was short but rounded and her arms plump and enticing. 她的脖子短，但浑圆可爱；两臂丰腴，也很动人。

22 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

23 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。