VOA标准英语2009年-Car Bomb Kills 16 in Afghanistan

By Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
17 September 2009
 
A body covered with a blue sheet lies at the site where a suicide car bomber¹ attacked an Italian military convoy² on a road in Kabul, Afghanistan, 17 Sep 2009
A suicide car bomber struck a military convoy in Kabul, killing³ 16 people, including six Italian soldiers. This is the fourth attack of its kind in the Afghan capital in the past month and the deadliest strike the Italian forces have suffered in Afghanistan.

Afghan authorities say an Italian military convoy was traveling from the Kabul airport to its base in the city when a suicide bomber rammed⁴ his explosive-filled car into it, causing a huge explosion.

The blast blew out windows in buildings around the scene in the center of the capital city. An Afghan man who witnessed the attack gave its details to reporters. 

He says he saw the suicide bomber driving his car towards the convoy.  Foreign soldiers warned him to stop, says the eyewitness⁵, but the driver ignored the warning and then there was a big explosion.

Witnesses reported several wrecked⁶ Italian military vehicles, while Afghan soldiers at the scene carried dozens of wounded civilians⁷ to ambulances.

Taliban militants⁸ immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the fourth of its kind in Kabul in the past month. Earlier, a Taliban suicide bomber detonated his explosives-filled car outside the main gate of a NATO military base inside the city's only airport. In August, a suicide bomber struck outside the NATO's headquarters in Kabul, killing at least nine people. 

Thursday's attack is said to have caused shock in Italy where the parliament held a minute's silence in honor of the victims.

There are more than 100,000 Western troops are in Afghanistan, most of them American. An estimated 2,500 come from Italy, but they are kept out of the main combat zones in southern and eastern Afghan provinces. 

Taliban militants have stepped up attacks on foreign forces in recent months.  July and August have been the deadliest months for international forces in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led anti-terror fight began in late 2001.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

6 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

7 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。

8 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。