伊斯兰国挟持伊拉克村民当人质

AS IT IS 2016-03-22 Islamic State Holds Iraqi Village Hostage 伊斯兰国挟持伊拉克村民当人质

The Islamic State (IS) terror group is holding a small Iraqi village hostage to launch attacks on nearby towns.

The village of Bashir is 25 kilometers south of the city of Kirkuk. The village is home to a minority group of Shiite Turkmen. IS has controlled the village since 2014.

Iraqi government officials say IS uses Bashir to launch deadly rocket attacks on nearby towns, including a chemical attack on the town of Taza Khurmatu earlier this month. Town officials reported three deaths and many injuries.

“The rockets spread a garlicky smell and caused nausea¹ and vomiting,” said Soran Jalal, the civil defense³ head. He told VOA that investigators⁴ confirmed IS rockets carried mustard gas and came from Bashir.

Kurdish forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a Shi’ite militia⁵, are surrounding Bashir.

Kurdish Major General Westa Rasul said IS control over Bashir is a big threat. He said the village is close to the North Oil Company and a power plant that provides one third of Iraq’s electricity.

Recently, hundreds of protestors from Bashir blocked Iraq’s main highway. The protestors demanded removal of Islamic State fighters from Bashir.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials say they need air support from coalition⁶ forces to remove IS extremists from the village. It is difficult without air support because of numerous mines and explosives planted around the village.

No help from coalition forces

But a coalition of Western governments, including the U.S. and Britain, worry about helping⁷ the PMF. The militia group is close to Iran, which has had a troubled relationship with the U.S. PMF is also on the U.S. terrorist organization list.

“Our policy is to support forces with and under the direct control of the government of Iraq,” said U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren. He is a spokesman for the coalition’s operations against IS.

The alleged⁸ chemical attack may increase pressure to move against IS forces in Bashir.

Freeing the village from IS will only take a few hours, said Lieutenant⁹ General Anwar Hamad Amin. He is commander of the Iraqi Air Force.

But he told VOA, “There needs to be coordination¹⁰ with forces on the ground first.”

And that will not be easy, according to Michael Knights¹¹, a Washington Institute expert on the region.

“If a friendly fire incident happened and coalition airstrikes killed Shia PMF, there is a concern among the Shia PMF leaders and the coalition that extremists would retaliate¹² against coalition trainers and embassies,” Knights said.

Words in This Story

garlicy – adj. the smell of garlic

nausea – n. the feeling you have in your stomach when you think you are going to vomit²

vomit – v. to have the food, liquid, etc., that is in your stomach come out through your mouth because you are sick

mustard gas – n. a poison gas used as a weapon in a war

airstrikes – n. attacks carried out by airplane

retaliate – v. to do something bad to someone who has hurt you or treated you badly to get revenge against someone

1 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

2 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 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。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

10 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

11 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

12 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。