Letter Attributed to al-Qaida Affiliate Claims Responsibilit

Letter Attributed to al-Qaida Affiliate¹ Claims Responsibility for Spanish Blasts

 

Nick Simeone

 

The death toll² has risen to at least 190 after a series of bombs placed on rush hour trains in Madrid Thursday. More than 1,200 are injured. The Spanish government blamed Basque separatists for what is being called the worst terrorist attack in its history. But there are other signs that suggest al-Qaida and its supporters may be responsible.

 

Ambulances carry the dead and wounded from some of Madrid's busiest train stations. As many as 10 bombs exploded in the city in what appear to be closely coordinated³ terrorist attacks.

 

Addressing the nation, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar called it mass murder, blaming the Basque separatist group ETA and vowing⁵ to track down those responsible for what British Foreign Secretary Jack⁶ Straw calls a shocking, unbelievable outrage⁷.

 

"This is, without any question, at least the worst terrorist outrage, which has taken place within Europe since the Lockerbie bombings at the end of the 1980s," he said.

 

Police later said they had found a van containing detonators along with an Arabic language tape with verses from the Koran. And, an Arabic-language newspaper in London says it has received a claim of responsibility from a Middle Eastern group taking credit for the blast in the name of al-Qaida. All of this has prompted Spanish authorities to now expand their investigation⁸ into groups beyond Basque separatists.

 

Condemnation⁹ and condolences were quick from world leaders including President Bush who telephoned King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Aznar to express his deepest sympathies for the loss of life.

 

"I told him we weep with the families. We stand strong with the people of Spain. I appreciate very much the Spanish government's fight against terror," he said.

 

Spain is a close American ally and part of the U.S.-led military coalition¹⁰ that invaded Iraq last year, another indication, according to terrorism experts like M.J. Gohel of the Asia Pacific Foundation, that Thursday's bombings could be a counter attack to the U.S.-led war on terror.

 

"Spain has been a major partner in the war on terrorism," he said. "Spain has also been involved in the war in Iraq as a major coalition partner. Spain was very much a number two target on the list for al-Qaida."

 

The Spanish government has declared several days of mourning but says Sunday's parliamentary elections will go ahead as scheduled.

 

注释：

death toll  死亡人数

Madrid [mE5drid] n. 马德里（西班牙首都）

separatist [5sepEreitist] n. 分离主义者

al-Qaida  基地组织

ambulance [5AmbjulEns] n. 救护车

Basque separatist group ETA  巴斯克分裂组织“埃塔” 

vow⁴ [vaJ] v. 宣誓，发誓

track down 追捕到

outrage [5autreidV] n. 愤怒

Lockerbie （地名）洛克比，是苏格南一小镇

detonator [5detEuneitE] n. 雷管，炸药

Arabic [5ArEbik] adj. 阿拉伯的

condolence [kEn5dEulEns] n. 哀悼，吊唁

ally [E5lai] n. 同盟国, 支持者

counter [5kauntE] adj. 敌对的，相反地

parliamentary [7pB:lE5mentEri] adj. 议会的

1 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

2 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。

3 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

5 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

10 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。