Dozens Dead in Iraqi Police Station Bombing

Dozens Dead in Iraqi Police Station Bombing

 

Kirk Troy

 

The explosion ripped through a police station in the town of Iskandariya just before mid-day, killing¹ and maiming people and wreaking⁴ havoc⁵ on the neighborhood. Emergency support and ambulances from as far away as Baghdad, more than 40 kilometers north of the town, were dispatched to the scene of the carnage.

The blast came as a large number of people waited outside the police station to apply for jobs.

U.S. military officials said police work in Iraq has become a very dangerous occupation. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the coalition⁶ military spokesman, "today was a tragic⁷ day for the Iraqi police service. They lost a number of police officers in the line of duty. I would like to report that this is the first day that I have had to stand here and say that. It is not." He said over 300 Iraqi policemen have been killed in the line of duty since last April.

U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division set up a security perimeter⁸ around the area while Iraqi authorities looked for survivors⁹ in the rubble¹⁰. The police station and other structures nearby partially¹¹ collapsed¹² as a result of the blast.

U.S. military officials have blamed previous attacks on police stations on foreign fighters link with al-Qaida and on Iraqi insurgents¹⁴ loyal to Saddam Hussein who see the Iraqi police and others working with the new government as collaborators with the U.S.-led coalition.

U.S. military officials say they have seized a computer disc containing a letter written by a suspected al-Qaida operative, outlining a plan to incite¹⁶ a sectarian war in Iraq between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. They say the letter was written by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian national suspected of having links to Ansar al-Islam, which is an al-Qaida-supported Muslim militant¹⁷ group operating inside Iraq.

Coalition spokesman Dan Senor said Tuesday's bombing is a sign of the terrorists' growing weakness. "The Zarqawi memo¹⁸ makes it clear that he and al-Qaida forces feel threatened by the growing Iraqi security services and by their increasing effectiveness, and by the process by which we hand over sovereignty to the Iraqi people. And certainly incidents like today are consistent with the sort of attacks one would make against institutions like the Iraqi police and the Iraqi civil defense¹⁹ corps²⁰ and Iraqi political leaders by which these terrorists feel threatened."

In a separate development in Baghdad, two attacks Monday claimed the lives of several policemen. In both attacks the officers were in their cars when another vehicle approached and gunmen opened fire.

 

注释：

rip [rip] v. 裂开，撕裂

mid-day [5mIddeI] n. 正午

maim² [meIm] vt. 使受重伤

wreak³ [ri:k] vt. 带来，施行

havoc [5hAvEk] n. 大破坏，浩劫

ambulance [5AmbjulEns] n. 救护车

dispatch [dis5pAtF] vt. 分派，派遣

carnage [5kB:nidV] n. （尤指在战场上的）残杀，大屠杀，流血

blast [blB:st] n. 爆炸

Brigadier General  陆军准将

Mark Kimmitt  马克·金米特，美国陆军准将。

in the line of duty  值勤

the 82nd Airborne Division  第82空降师，美国王牌部队中正规师之一。

perimeter [pE5rimitE] n. 周长，周界

rubble [5rQbl] n. 碎石

structure [5strQktFE] n. 建筑物

Iraqi [i5rB:ki] adj. 伊拉克的

insurgent¹³ [in5sE:dVEnt] n. 叛乱士兵，叛乱分子

collaborator¹⁵ [kE5lAbEreItE(r)] n. 合作者

incite [in5sait] vt. 激动，煽动

sectarian war  宗派战争

Sunni [5suni:] adj. （伊斯兰）逊尼派的

Ansar al-Islam  伊斯兰辅助者组织，是联合国驻巴格达办事处爆炸案的最大嫌疑犯。

memo [5memEu] n. 备忘录

effectiveness [i5fektivnis] n. 效力

sovereignty [5sCvrinti] n. 主权

consistent [kEn5sistEnt] adj. 一致的，不矛盾的

corps [kC:] n. 兵队，团

claim [kleim] vt. 索取

approach [E5prEutF] vi. 靠近

1 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。

2 maim   

v.使残废，使不能工作，使伤残

参考例句：

• Automobile accidents maim many people each year. 汽车车祸每年使许多人残废。
• These people kill and maim innocent civilians.这些人杀死和残害无辜平民。

3 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

4 wreaking   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Coal mining is a messy business, often wreaking terrible environmental damage nearby. 采矿是肮脏的行业，往往会严重破坏周边环境。
• The floods are wreaking havoc in low-lying areas. 洪水正在地势低洼地区肆虐。

5 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

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 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

11 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

12 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

13 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

14 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

15 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

16 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

17 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。

18 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

19 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。

20 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。