VOA标准英语2010年-Suicide Bomber Strikes in Kashmir as D

A suicide bomber¹ has struck a military facility in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing² at least four soldiers and wounding 11 others.  This is the second incident in the region within a month, fueling fears Taliban militants⁴ are expanding their subversive⁵ activities.  Meanwhile, tribal⁶ sources and local officials say that at least 13 suspected militants were killed and many others wounded in back to back U.S. drone attacks in Northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border.

The suicide bombing took place near the town of Rawalakot in Pakistani Kashmir.  Authorities say the bomber tried to enter an army installation in the area, but detonated the explosives after security guards stopped him for a search at the main gate.

The Taliban and their allied⁷ militant³ organizations have carried out scores of suicide and other terrorist attacks across Pakistan, mostly in the northwest of the country.  The violence has claimed hundreds of lives in recent months. 

But a deadly suicide attack late last month on a religious gathering⁸ of minority Shiite Muslims in Muzafarabad, the capital city of Pakistani Kashmir, and the latest bombing in the region, have fueled concerns the Taliban are expanding their militant activities.

Sardar Attique Khan is the leader of the ruling party, the Muslim Conference, in Kashmir and a former prime minister of the region called the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and known as AJK.

"This is very unfortunate that a second [suicide bombing] incident is taking place in AJK.  The basic cause [people think] is that the people [militants] have started shifting from [the] Waziristan [tribal region] and Swat to this area.  Azad Kashmir used to be a very peaceful place as compared to other parts of the country.  Political tolerance⁹ and accommodation and over all religious and political environment is far better than any other part of the country," said Khan.

Pakistani security forces are battling Taliban and al-Qaida militants believed to have bases in the tribal regions known as South and North Waziristan.  These areas border Afghanistan and it is widely believed militants trained there are responsible for terrorist attacks in Pakistan and on the Afghan side of the border.

While a full-scale anti-militancy army offensive is underway in South Waziristan, Pakistani authorities are yet to mount a formal action against Afghan and al-Qaida fighters entrenched¹⁰ in North Waziristan.  These militants are said to be involved in cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. 
The alleged¹¹ inaction by Pakistan against these fighters is believed to have provoked the U.S missile strikes on suspected targets by unmanned spy planes known as drones. 

At least two U.S. missile strikes against suspected militant hideouts in North Waziristan's Data Kheil area killed more than a dozen suspected militants and critically wounded many others.

It is estimated that last year, U.S. drones launched about 50 strikes in the Pakistani tribal region bordering Afghanistan in which hundreds of people were killed, mostly militants.  Pakistani authorities oppose these missile strikes, saying civilian¹² deaths in these attacks are fueling anti-America sentiment in the country.

The mountainous North Waziristan region is believed to be a haven¹³ for fighters linked to the Haqqani terror network, a supporter of al-Qaida.  The United States believes the group is responsible for recent deadly attacks on local and foreign targets in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani tribal region is located opposite to Afghanistan's eastern Khost province, where a suicide bomber late last month blew himself up inside a U.S base killing seven personnel of the Central Intelligence Agency or CIA. 

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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

10 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

11 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

12 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。

13 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。