2007年VOA标准英语-Blast Targeting Shi'ite Shrine in Iraq Kills 55

By Barry Newhouse
Irbil, Iraq
28 April 2007

Iraqi officials say a blast near a Shi'ite shrine¹ in the holy city Karbala has killed at least 55 people. Locals say the bomb detonated as many worshippers gathered for evening prayers at the Imam Abbas shrine. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from northern Iraq. 

Firefighters hose down burning vehicles following an explosion in a crowded commercial area near the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, Iraq 28 Apr 2007

Television footage showed distraught onlookers² rushing to the still burning wreckage³ and carrying away the dead and wounded. Locals told Iraqi television the blast appeared to have been from a car bomb. 

Violence elsewhere in Iraq killed at least 10 people on Saturday, including three children in a mortar⁴ attack in western Baghdad.

Earlier, in a statement from Baghdad, the U.S. military said that coalition⁵ forces conducting raids on suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cells detained 17 suspected terrorists in cities north and east of Baghdad and in the northern city of Mosul. The suspects are accused of murders, kidnappings, weapons smuggling⁶ and organizing car bombings. Officials said two of those detained are suspected of having ties to the bombing of Baghdad's landmark⁷ Sarafiyah bridge earlier this month. None of the suspects was identified, although officials said one served as an intelligence officer for al-Qaida.

In Sadr City, a Shi'ite neighborhood of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi forces detained four suspected insurgents⁹ in an early morning raid.

The U.S. military also announced Saturday that an operation earlier this week uncovered more weapons with links to Iran.

U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant¹⁰ Colonel Christopher Garver said Iraqi and  U.S. forces found a cache of rockets and mortars¹¹.

"These weapons are distinctively¹² marked so that we know they are coming from Iran," he said.  "We know the smuggling routes and the Iraqi border security teams are working to close down those smuggling routes where you see the smuggling coming in from the south of Iraq and into Baghdad up from the South."

For months U.S. officials have accused Iran of training and supplying insurgents in Iraq with weapons and high-powered explosives. Last week, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said an Iraqi insurgent⁸ group, known as the Khazali Network, has close ties with Iran's elite¹³ Quds Force military unit and was involved in killing¹⁴ five U.S. soldiers near Karbala in January.

1 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

2 onlookers   

n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
• The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。

3 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

4 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

5 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。

6 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

7 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

8 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。

9 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

10 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

11 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

12 distinctively   

adv.特殊地，区别地

参考例句：

• "Public risks" is a recent term for distinctively high-tech hazards. “公共风险”是个特殊的高技术危害个人的一个最新术语。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• His language was natural, unaffected, distinctively vivid, humorous and strongly charming. 语言既朴实无华，又鲜明生动，幽默而富有艺术魅力。

13 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

14 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。