VOA常速英语2007年-Suicide Bombing at Mosque in Northwest Pakistan

By Purnell Murdock
Washington
21 December 2007

Pakistani officials say at least 50 people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a mosque¹ in the country's restive² northwest, during prayers for the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival. Officials say a former interior minister appeared to be the target of the attack. VOA's Purnell Murdock has details from our news center in Washington.

Police in Charsadda - a district in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province - say hundreds of worshippers were packed in a mosque inside the residential³ compound of former interior minister Aftab Sherpao at the time of the blast early Friday.

Witnesses say the bombing, which came during the Islamic holy day of Eid-al-Adha, created a scene of carnage, with bloody⁴ clothes and body parts strewn about the mosque.

Akbar Khan, a Charsadda resident, was at the scene of the blast.

Khan says he and other worshippers had finished their Eid prayers when the blast suddenly erupted. After that, he says, he does not know what happened.

Local police say the attacker blew himself up in a row of worshippers behind Sherpao and his son. A spokesman said the former interior minister was unhurt, but that one his sons was wounded.

It was the second attempt on the life of Sherpao, who is an ally of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and is contesting for a parliamentary seat in next month's general election. He was wounded in a suicide attack on his party's gathering⁵ in Charsadda eight months ago.

There has been a surge in violence in northwestern Pakistan since security forces ousted⁶ armed pro-Taliban militants⁷ from the radical⁸ Red Mosque in Islamabad in July.

Pakistani soldiers in the past weeks drove out militants from small towns in Swat Valley - a popular resort in the northwest. The army said some 300 militants were killed during the operation.

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

2 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

3 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

4 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

7 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。

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。