VOA常速英语2008年-Iraqi Civilian Casualties Rise, Reversing Six-M
时间：2019-01-12 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2008年（三月）
Irbil
01 March 2008
The Iraqi government says the number of civilians 2 who were killed rose by a third in February, reversing a six-month trend that came with security improvements. A U.S. military spokesman says violence is still down across the country, despite a series of recent attacks. Daniel Schearf reports from the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.
Figures released Saturday by Iraq's interior, defense 3, and health ministries 4 show that at least 630 Iraqi civilians were killed in February, a third more than in January.
The rising death toll 5 follows months of lower casualty figures after a surge in U.S. troops and cooperation from some Sunni and Shi'ite militias 6.
Several deadly suicide bombings helped push the monthly death toll back up. In early February, two mentally impaired 7 women detonated themselves in Baghdad pet markets, killing 8 nearly a hundred people.
Another bomber 9 killed more than 60 Shi'ite pilgrims traveling to the southern city of Karbala for an annual religious commemoration.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for many of the recent bombings.
Admiral Gregory Smith is a U.S. military spokesman. In an interview this week, he told VOA that the recent attacks do not necessarily indicate a spike 10 in violence as a whole.
"Any given week you might see an up tick or down tick, but I think since about the late September/October timeframe, we've seen a dramatic drop-off and those numbers continue through today," he said.
The U.S. military says violent attacks have fallen by 60 percent since June, when the U.S. sent 30,000 more troops to Iraq in what was called a surge.
Despite the jump in the February death toll, civilian 1 casualties are still lower than February 2007 when at least 1,600 Iraqis were killed.
U.S. casualty figures are also down. In February last year, 81 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq. This year 29 have been reported killed, down from 40 in January.
Also on Saturday, the U.S. military announced that coalition 11 forces have detained the leader of a suspected suicide vest cell north of Baghdad. The military says the man was trying to recruit women, including his wife, to carry out suicide bombings.
- 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。
- 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。
- The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
- The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
- Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
- The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。
- The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
- The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
- The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
- The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网
- Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- 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。
- 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。
- The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
- They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。