Somali fury at 'al-Qaeda killing'

Somali Islamists will avenge¹ the raid in which a top al-Qaeda suspect was reportedly killed in Somalia, an al-Shabab commander has told the BBC.

Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan is believed to have been killed in a US military helicopter(直升机) raid on Monday.

US agents have been hunting Nabhan for years over attacks on a hotel and an Israeli airliner² in Kenya in 2002.

It is believed he fled to Somalia after the Mombasa attacks and was working with the al-Shabab group.

The al-Shabab commander, who spoke³ on condition of anonymity⁴ as he was not authorised to speak publicly, said the insurgents⁵ would retaliate⁶ against US interests.

"They will taste the bitterness of our response," he told the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in the capital, Mogadishu.

Somali sources told the BBC that six helicopters were involved in the attack on Monday afternoon on two vehicles in the southern coastal⁷ town of Barawe, which is controlled by al-Shabab.

 

A US official was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying special forces had flown by helicopter from a US Navy ship and fired on a vehicle that they believed was carrying Nabhan - whose body was then taken into US custody⁸.

His wife has told the BBC from the Kenyan port town of Mombasa that she has begun the customary 40-day period of mourning.

Our reporter says the raid has raised concern among Somalis.

They fear such attacks by foreign forces may help to fuel extremism, instead of combating it, our correspondent says.

The US last launched a major strike in Somalia in May 2008, killing⁹ al-Shabab's military leader and at least 10 others.

The raid led to protests by villagers and critics say it had little effect on al-Shabab's capabilities¹⁰.

French connection?

Analysts（分析家） say Nabhan is one of the most senior leaders of al-Qaeda's East Africa cell.

 

ANALYSIS Frank Gardner, BBC News This latest US raid into Somalia, carried out by Joint11 Special Operations Command, would have had several aims. Firstly, it would be about "settling scores" - killing or capturing a man the FBI believes was instrumental in al-Qaeda's attacks in East Africa. A second aim would be to show al-Qaeda's senior operatives that there is no safe hiding place, even in a country whose militants13 effectively drove out US forces 15 years ago. Thirdly, the raid's planners would be hoping to throw both al-Qaeda and al-Shabab off-balance, disrupting their plans. Although Nabhan's loss will be felt, reports of his death at US hands are almost certain to trigger revenge attacks in the region.

He is suspected of bombing an Israeli-owned hotel in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, and trying to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002.

The authorities in Kenya also regard him as a suspect in two attacks on US embassies in the region in 1998.

US-based Somalia expert Andre le Sage¹⁴ told the BBC's Network Africa programme that Nabhan's death, if confirmed, would severely¹⁵ hamper¹⁶ the network's ability to operate in the region.

But he said new leaders would probably emerge to take Nabhan's place.

BBC defence correspondent Nick Childs says the raid seems to be something of a departure from recent US tactics in Somalia, which have tended to use long-range missile strikes and aircraft to try to get at militant¹² suspects.

Earlier reports had quoted（引用） witnesses as saying the troops wore uniforms with French insignia and had flown from a ship bearing a French flag.

But the French military strongly denied involvement.

 

During 2007 and 2008 the US carried out air strikes against Somali Islamist groups it accused of links to al-Qaeda.

The US and France both have troops stationed in neighbouring Djibouti.

Monday's assault（攻击） comes several weeks after a French security adviser¹⁷ held by militants in Mogadishu managed to get free. A colleague seized at the same time remains¹⁸ in captivity¹⁹.

Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991.

Rival Islamist factions²⁰ are battling forces loyal to the weak UN-backed government, which controls only small parts of the capital Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab are said to have links to al-Qaeda, and to have been reinforced with foreign fighters.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 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。

2 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

5 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

6 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

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 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 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。

13 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。

14 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

17 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

18 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。

19 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

20 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别