VOA常速英语2008年-Pakistan: Top Taliban Commander Captured

By Meredith Buel
Islamabad
11 February 2008

Pakistani security forces say they have wounded and captured a prominent Taliban commander and five other militants² after a shootout near the border with Afghanistan. VOA Correspondent Meredith Buel has details from Islamabad.

Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told VOA Mullah Mansoor Dadullah along with the other Taliban militants were caught entering Pakistan from Afghanistan at paramilitary check post in the southwestern province of Baluchistan.

"They were challenged and thereafter a firefight took place between them. All six of them were injured and then they were apprehended⁴ by the Frontier Corps⁵. Of course they were provided with first aid there and then they were brought back towards the camp," he said.

Local officials reported a different version of Dadullah's capture.

They say the Taliban militant¹ was hiding in a compound that was raided by Pakistani security forces.

Mansoor Dadullah is the brother of a former top military commander for the Taliban, Mullah Dadullah, who was killed in an Afghan and NATO military operation last May in southern Afghanistan.

There has been growing pressure from Western nations on Pakistan to crack down on Islamic militants launching attacks inside Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The arrest came days after a senior U.S. official said that al-Qaida leader Osama bin⁶ Laden⁷ and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar were operating from inside Pakistan.

The U.S. official, who spoke³ on condition of anonymity⁸, said Mullah Omar and other commanders were directing the insurgency⁹ in Afghanistan from Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan.

Pakistan Army spokesman General Abbas says Dadullah's capture does not confirm that top Taliban leaders are inside Pakistan.

"We reject that. We think that we are in a good position to know exactly who is where. We absolutely consider this as baseless and unfounded news," he said.

Afghan authorities have long said al-Qaida and Taliban leaders receive refuge in Pakistan's lawless tribal¹⁰ regions.

Many Taliban and al-Qaida militants fled to the Pakistani border areas after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban militia's government in late 2001.

Pakistani forces have carried out military operations to clear the border area of militants, and hundreds of people, including army troops, have been killed in clashes with insurgents¹¹.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

9 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

10 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

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