VOA标准英语2008年-Afghan, Foreign Troops Launch Massive Manhunt t

By Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
14 June 2008

Afghan and foreign troops have launched a massive manhunt to recapture hundreds of prisoners, including suspected Taliban militants¹, who escaped a central prison in southern Afghanistan after a raid by Taliban insurgents² on Friday night. Authorities say an investigation³ into the incident is underway and some prison officials are also being questioned to see if they had played any role. In another development, U.S military officials say that a roadside bomb explosion left four soldiers from the US-led coaltion dead in western Afghanistan. From neighboring Pakistan, Ayaz Gul reports.
　

An Afghan policeman stands among shattered buildings and vehicles at the site of a suicide attack in front of the entrance to the main jail in Kandahar on 14 June 2008

A Taliban spokesman told reporters by telephone from an undisclosed location that 30 insurgents and two suicide bombers⁵ took part in the Friday night attack on the prison in the southern city of Kandahar.

The commando-style assault began with a fuel tanker⁶ loaded with explosives hitting the main gate while another suicide bomber⁴ blew up the back wall of the facility. The powerful explosions are said to have instantly killed at least 15 security guards and wounded many others.

Afghan Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai says that heavily armed Taliban militants then stormed the compound and helped prisoners escape.

"Now when this happened, and of course there were some casualties in the beginning and of course when the ISAF forces and the government forces were informed about that, they blocked the roads leading to the prison, and outside of it, and other main roads searching the vehicles to see if they can re-capture those who managed to escape," he said.

Afghan officials say that there were nearly 1,200 prisoners, including up to 400 suspected Taliban militants, before the attack, and most of them are said to have been freed by the attackers.

The jailbreak is being described as a major security breach⁷ and has increased security concerns for both the government and foreign forces particularly in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have carried out most of their subversive⁸ activities in the past two years.

Under a program agreed to last year to transfer all local prisoners from U.S detention⁹, the U.S. military has handed over an unspecified number of suspected Taliban fighters to Afghan custody¹⁰.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S military vehicle on Saturday killing¹¹ four American soldiers. A U.S military spokesman says the attack happened in western Farah province and targeted American personnel helping¹² train Afghanistan's police force.

The violence and jailbreak came a day after international donors¹³ at a conference in Paris pledged more than $20 billion for Afghanistan.

1 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。

2 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

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 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。

5 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

7 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

8 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

9 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

10 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

11 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。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》