2007年VOA标准英语-US Military in Iraq Says Coalition Forces Kille

By Jim Randle
Irbil, Iraq
02 February 2007

The U.S. military said Friday that coalition¹ forces in Iraq killed 18 insurgents³ in the western city of Ramadi.  VOA's Jim Randle reports from northern Iraq.

 
A U.S. soldier in Baghdad
Officials say the fighting began late Thursday and continued into Friday.

The U.S. military says insurgents attacked coalition forces with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. Coalition forces called in aircraft to hit insurgent² positions.

Ramadi is in al-Anbar province, which has been wracked by a Sunni insurgency⁴.

In a separate incident, officials are investigating reports that another U.S. helicopter has crashed about 18 kilometers from Baghdad. It would be the fourth American helicopter to go down in recent weeks.

The top officer in the U.S. military, General Peter Pace, says the large number of helicopter losses is prompting some worry and research at the Pentagon.

 
General Peter Pace
"Clearly, there has been more effective ground fire against our helicopters in the past couple of weeks," he said.  "I have taken a hard look at that, do not know if this is just what is going to happen statistically⁵ when you are flying at that [low] level, and people are shooting at you, or whether there are some kind of new tactics and techniques we need to adjust to."

Meanwhile, Army Col. Bryan Owens, who leads a Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, says President Bush's new strategy of sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq and concentrating U.S. and Iraqi combat power in Baghdad may force insurgents to leave Baghdad and head for his area of responsibility north of the capital.

"Because of the pressures in Baghdad, we believe the threat forces will try to move to Salah ad Din⁶ and find safe havens," he said.

Col. Owens is setting up more and stronger road checkpoints to intercept⁷ these forces.

Meantime, Iraqi officials are holding three days of mourning for victims of suicide bombings in Hillah, 100 kilometers south of Baghdad.

Police said at least 73 people died and another 163 were wounded in Thursday's attacks that struck a crowded market area.

This witness says he saw people flee from the first blast, and some of them ran right into the second explosion.

1 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。

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 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

5 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

6 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

7 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。