VOA标准英语10月-Afghan Soldiers Accidentally Killed in Friendly F

A number of Afghan soldiers have died in a so-called friendly fire air strike in the eastern part of Afghanistan. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from Kabul that nine troops were killed and three more wounded when a U.S.-led coalition¹ strike hit their post.
　

An Afghan soldier collects a piece of the bomb used by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike in Sayed Kheil area of eastern Khost province, south of Kabul, 22 Oct 2008

U.S.-led coalition helicopters mistakenly fired on an Afghan military checkpoint in the eastern province of Khost.

The Afghan army says the soldiers were manning a checkpoint in an operation to provide security for voter registration². It says such an attack has damaged the morale³ of its military.

General Zahir Azimi tells VOA News that the Afghan Defense⁴ Ministry⁵ is condemning⁶ the incident in the strongest terms.

General Azimi says Afghanistan will do its utmost to bring to justice, under its laws, the culprits responsible for the deaths of its soldiers.

It would be unprecedented⁷ for foreign military personnel here to be charged by Afghan authorities in connection with such an incident.

A U.S. military spokesman says American and Afghan officials will meet to discuss the so-called "friendly fire" accident, which occurred in the early morning hours Wednesday. Both militaries say they are sending investigators⁸ to the site of the attack.

A number of civilians⁹ were killed in a western village in August by a U.S. air strike prompting strong condemnation¹⁰ from President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan government and military officials.

That incident and other recent wayward attacks resulted in a pledge by the U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces to be more careful during such operations which target insurgents¹¹.

Afghanistan is rebuilding its security forces with the support of the United States and other NATO countries.

Since the fall of the Taliban government seven years ago more than 80,000 Afghans have been trained for the national army. The international forces combating the Taliban in the country total 60,000 troops.

In one of the most recent significant battles, police in Uruzgan province say 35 Taliban died on Tuesday and Wednesday when their officers repulsed¹² an attack by 100 rebel fighters in the Dih Rahwud district center. Three policemen are reported to have died in the battle which continued for several hours.

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 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

3 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

11 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

12 repulsed   

v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝

参考例句：

• I was repulsed by the horrible smell. 这种可怕的气味让我恶心。
• At the first brush,the enemy was repulsed. 敌人在第一次交火时就被击退了。 来自《简明英汉词典》