VOA标准英语2009年-US Attacks Suspected Terrorist Hiding in S

Somali witnesses say a U.S. air assault in Somalia has killed a top terrorist suspect linked to al-Qaida. The fugitive¹ is believed to have been behind the bombing of a Kenyan hotel and is also suspected in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.
　
Kenyan terror suspect Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan talks to a relative on a mobile phone in the Nairobi High Court (2004 File)

Terrorist suspect Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was killed in a helicopter assault Monday, according to Somali eyewitnesses². The eyewitnesses say after attacking a convoy³ carrying the terror suspect, the U.S. troops landed and took the corpse⁴ of the Kenyan-born man with them.

U.S. military officials said the commando operation took place in the coast district of Barawe in southern Somalia, which is heavily controlled by al-Shabab, a radical⁵ Islamist terrorist group thought to have direct links with al-Qaida.

U.S. authorities say Nabhan was involved in the 2002 bombing of the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel that killed 13 people in the Kenyan port city of Mombassa. At the same time, two ground-launched missiles narrowly missed an Israeli passenger jet leaving Mombassa's airport. Nabhan is suspected of helping⁶ fire the rockets.

Authorities also believe the suspect may have been involved in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, which killed 218 people, the majority of them Kenyan.

The alleged⁷ use of special operations troops in the raid could signal a shift away from the controversial U.S. tactic⁸ of relying on long-range missile assaults to take out terrorist targets.

The long-range attacks kept American combat forces largely off the ground, but caused a number of civilian⁹ deaths. Critics say the unpopular attacks help fuel the Islamist insurgency¹⁰ they were aimed at destroying.

The commando operation Monday appears to have been executed smoothly¹¹ and with no civilian casualties.

An International Crisis Group Somalia analyst¹², Rashid Abdi, says the United States has most probably been tracking the suspect for awhile.

"We know he has been in southern Somalia for sometime, especially that he was being sheltered by some of the al-Shabab leaders," he said. "And there have been reported sightings of him for some time now. So I am sure the American intelligence also must have been aware of his whereabouts and movements. They must have kept him under surveillance for a while."

U.S. officials have been quoted as saying the operation Monday was launched when it became clear their target was traveling in an area away from heavy population.

The Kenyan-born suspect reportedly was highly involved in al-Shabab's fight against the Western-backed transitional federal government and participated actively¹³ in the insurgency against Ethiopian troops after the 2006 invasion and subsequent occupation of Somalia.

Nabhan is thought to have been closely tied to Fazul Abdullah Mohamed, al-Qaida's chief operative in the region and a suspected mastermind of the 1998 embassy bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania's capital Dar es Salaam¹⁴. Both men have been the target of multiple U.S. airstrikes.

The U.S. government has not officially confirmed the death.

1 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

2 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

3 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

4 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

5 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

6 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。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

9 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。

10 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

11 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

14 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。