VOA常速英语2008年-Suicide Bomber Kills 80 in Afghanistan

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
17 February 2008

A suicide-bomb attack in Afghanistan's southern city Kandahar has killed at least 80 people and wounded scores more, according to security officials.  VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad the attack, one of the deadliest in Afghanistan in recent years, also killed some militia¹ fighters opposed to the Taliban.

Witnesses said the blast tore through a crowd of mostly men and boys who were watching a dog fighting festival in .

Interior Ministry² Spokesman Zamary Bashary called the blast a "very bad" suicide attack. 

"The police are investigating the case," Bashary.  "Right now we are sure it was a suicide bomber³.  Some parts of the legs are remaining on the spot."

Speaking to VOA, he condemned⁴ what he called the "criminals" behind the attack and said it shows the perpetrators are opposed to the Afghan people. 

Dog fighting competitions are popular in parts of Afghanistan, but were officially banned under the Taliban.

Witnesses at Sunday's blast reported a few police officers and militia leaders opposed to the Taliban were among those killed.

The Taliban, which has waged a tenacious⁵ insurgency⁶ in southern Afghanistan in the past two years, has not claimed responsibility for the attack.  The group frequently takes credit for attacks on government and military targets, but rarely celebrates bombings that cause heavy civilian⁷ casualties.

2007 was the deadliest year in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.  In November, a bomb attack targeting a group of Afghan parliament members killed more than 40 people. 

1 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

2 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。

3 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

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 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。