2007年VOA标准英语-Militants Wore US-Style Uniforms in Karbala, Ir

By Jim Randle
Baghdad
27 January 2007

The U.S. military now says some American soldiers were abducted¹ and killed in a recent raid by insurgents³ wearing U.S.-style uniforms. The sophisticated attack hit a command post in the Iraqi city of Karbala a week ago. VOA's Jim Randle reports from Baghdad, where new details of the incident are emerging.

The military says four U.S. soldiers were abducted during the attack. All four were later found some distance away, some were handcuffed; all had been shot and were dead or dying.

The troops were captured in a night raid on a command center in Karbala, south of Baghdad.

U.S. military officials say the attackers, wearing distinctive⁴ U.S.-style camouflage⁵ uniforms and driving vehicles very similar to those used by U.S. officials, carried American-style weapons and spoke⁶ English to pass Iraqi-guarded checkpoints.

Once inside the compound, between nine and 12 raiders began shooting and throwing grenades. An additional U.S. soldier died in the fighting, three others were wounded.

Violence continued Saturday in Baghdad.  Iraqi officials say two car bombs exploded in a commercial area of a mostly Shi'ite neighborhood in the eastern part of the capital, killing⁷ a number of people and wounding others. 

Officials say gunmen dressed in Iraqi uniforms abducted eight people from an electronics store in a separate incident in a Shi'ite neighborhood.

Iraqi officials say the number of insurgent² attacks on Shi'ite neighborhoods in Baghdad has increased ahead of a planned crackdown on militants⁸.

On the political front, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Saturday in Baghdad to discuss the security situation there and efforts at reconciliation⁹.

 
Nancy Pelosi (file photo)
Pelosi, an opposition¹⁰ Democrat¹¹, met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Friday, and said the two leaders now better understand each others' point of view.

Mr. Maliki apparently¹² repeated a pledge to confront "outlaws," regardless of their religious or political affiliation¹³.

The House speaker also met with U.S. troops.

"We are proud of you, we appreciate your patriotism¹⁴, your courage, the sacrifice that you are willing to make," she said.

Democratic Party lawmakers are preparing to start debate in the U.S. Senate next week on a nonbinding resolution stating that President Bush's proposed troop increase in Iraq is not in the national interest.

 
Adel Abdel Mahdi talks during the session "Iraq: Uniting for Stability" at the World Economic Forum¹⁵, 25 Jan 2007
In the meantime, strife¹⁶ in Iraq was a key issue Saturday at the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. That is where Iraqi Vice¹⁷ President Adil Abd Al-Mahdi spoke briefly¹⁸ with reporters.

REPORTER: "Is peace in Iraq achievable?"

AL-MAHDI: "Yes, of course."

Officials and politicians from Iraq and many other nations participated in a forum on Iraq and the future of the Middle East.

1 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

2 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。

3 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

4 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

5 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

13 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

14 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

15 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

16 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

18 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。