2007年VOA标准英语-Taleban Insurgents Step Up Attacks on Afghan Po

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
01 June 2007

Afghan police are under attack as Taleban insurgents¹ target the country's vulnerable security force. From Islamabad, VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand says militants² have mounted a series of attacks on local police in recent days with both sides suffering heavy casualties.

Just past sunset Thursday evening, scores of suspected Taleban insurgents surrounded a policeman's private house in an isolated³ corner of Paktiya province in eastern Afghanistan.

Local officials say the militants hoped to kidnap the officer and his family.

Luckily, they say, reinforcements arrived in time. The counterattack left at least 6 insurgents dead, with 7 others wounded.

Police say they recovered vehicles, automatic weapons and six rocket-propelled grenades from the scene.

A day earlier, police in neighboring Zabul district were less fortunate. A Taleban ambush⁴ killed 16 officers. Ten militants were also killed during the gun battle.

Interior ministry⁵ spokesman Zemarai Bashary says Afghan police are now on the front line in the fight against Taleban insurgents.

"The police of Afghanistan is the only force that exists in those remote areas to fight with the insurgency⁶ and enforce law and order," said Bashary.

After a relatively⁷ quiet winter, U.S. and Afghan officials say that insurgency is, once again, heating up.

Security experts say the Taleban are intentionally⁸ targeting local police as they try to avoid direct confrontation⁹ with well-armed U.S. and NATO forces.

There are nearly 50,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, along with an estimated 35,000 trained and equipped Afghan National Army soldiers.

The police force has about 63,000 officers. Unlike the military, police are usually deployed¹⁰ in fewer numbers and to more remote locations.

Bashary says most are out-manned and out-gunned by the insurgents.

"The police must be equipped with much stronger weapons than currently they have," he said. "When the enemy attacks, they attack with mortars¹¹, with artillery¹² [and] with heavy weapons."

Afghan police are typically given a basic AK-47 machine gun. U.S. military sources say only about a third of the existing police force has the necessary guns and communications equipment.

Plans are underway to recruit another 19,000 police officers by the end of the year and to accelerate training programs for new officers.

Last year was Afghanistan's deadliest since U.S.-led forces ousted¹³ the Taleban regime in 2001. More than 5,000 people have been killed since last January.

1 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

2 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。

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

4 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 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

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

9 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

10 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

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 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

13 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。