10-26-09

10-26-09

美军直升机阿富汗坠毁14人死 (14 Americans Killed in Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan)

阿富汗星期一发生两起直升机坠毁事件，造成14名美军和平民死亡。这对美军来说是自2001年进入阿富汗以来伤亡惨重的一天。

北约说，7名美军和3名美国人丧生于星期一发生在阿富汗西部地区的坠机事件。国际部队表示，直升机在与疑似从事毒品走私的反叛分子发生冲突后坠毁。北约说，12名疑似敌方战斗人员也在事件中身亡。

塔利班声称对西巴德吉斯省的直升机坠毁事件负责。不过，北约说，他们不相信直升机是被击落的。

在阿富汗南部星期一发生的另一起事故中，两架直升机相撞后坠毁，造成四名美国军人死亡。美国总统奥巴马星期一将在白宫与其国家安全小组讨论阿富汗相关议题。

Two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan have killed 14 U.S. troops and civilians in one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion.

NATO says seven U.S. troops and three U.S. civilians were killed Monday when their helicopter crashed in western Afghanistan. The international force says the helicopter went down after a fight with insurgents suspected of drug trafficking. NATO says 12 suspected enemy fighters were killed.

The Taliban is claiming responsibility for taking down a helicopter in western Badghis province, but NATO says it does not believe the helicopter was shot down.

In a separate incident in southern Afghanistan Monday, two helicopters collided in flight, killing four U.S. troops. U.S. President Barack Obama is discussing Afghanistan Monday at the White House with his national security team.

in‧sur‧gent / ɪnˈsɜːdʒ ə nt $ -ɜːr- / noun [ countable usually plural ] formal

one of a group of people fighting against the government of their own country, or against authority [= rebel ] :

communist insurgents

— insurgent adjective

 

traf‧fick‧ing / ˈtræfɪkɪŋ / noun [ uncountable ]

1 the buying and selling of illegal goods, especially drugs :

drug trafficking

2 the activity of taking people to another country and forcing them to work :

human trafficking

 

巴格达警方在爆炸后加强安全保卫 (Iraqi Forces Tighten Security After Bombings)

伊拉克安全部队封锁了巴格达的道路，并在路上设立了检查站。与此同时，有关星期天两枚威力强大的汽车炸弹爆炸事件的调查仍在继续。这次爆炸造成至少155人死亡。

伊拉克总理马利基说，爆炸袭击的目的是制造不稳定局势，阻止伊拉克定于明年1月举行大选。尽管还没有人宣称对这次袭击承担责任，总理办公室指责基地组织和复兴社会党成员发动了这次袭击。

重兵把守的绿区附近的这两起炸弹爆炸几乎同时发生，目标看来是省政府办公楼和司法部。

爆炸严重毁坏了政府大楼，炸毁了附近的汽车，街道上散落着遇难者的肢体。有500多人受伤。与此同时，伊拉克安全官员表示，星期一在南部城市卡尔巴拉发生一起炸弹爆炸事件，造成至少3人死亡。

Iraqi security forces have blocked streets in Baghdad and set up checkpoints as the investigation continues into Sunday's powerful car bombings that left at least 155 people dead.

Iraq's prime minister said the bombings were meant to create instability and stop the country from holding elections in January. Nouri al Maliki's office blamed al-Qaida and members of the Baathist party for the attacks, although no one has claimed responsibility.

The two near-simultaneous attacks hit near the heavily-guarded Green zone and appeared to target a provincial government building and the Ministry of Justice.

The blasts caused heavy damage to the government buildings, demolished nearby cars and scattered body parts across the streets. More than 500 people were wounded. Meanwhile, Iraqi security officers say a bombing killed at least three people Monday in the southern city of Karbala.

de‧mol‧ish / dɪˈmɒlɪʃ $ dɪˈmɑː- / verb [ transitive ]

1 to completely destroy a building :

The entire east wing of the building was demolished in the fire.

2 to prove that an idea or opinion is completely wrong :

He demolished my argument in minutes.

3 to end or ruin something completely :

These ants can demolish large areas of forest.

4 to defeat someone very easily :

Miami demolished Texas 46–3.

5 especially British English informal to eat all of something very quickly :

He demolished a second helping of pie.

scat‧tered / ˈskætəd $ -ərd / adjective

spread over a wide area or over a long period of time

scattered over/throughout/across/around etc

Broken glass lay scattered over the floor.

scattered with

The sky was scattered with stars.

There will be some scattered showers (= short periods of rain ) in the afternoon.

a widely scattered set of islands