伊斯蘭國武裝分子突襲伊拉克城鎮

Isis militants have stormedthe town of Rutba in the west of Iraq, just two days after the jihadi forceshocked the country with a surprise attack on the northern city of Kirkuk.

“伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)武裝分子突襲了伊拉克西部城鎮魯特巴(Rutba)，僅兩天前，這股聖戰力量對伊北部城市基爾庫克(Kirkuk)發動的突然襲擊震驚了這個國家。

The recent attacks come as theIraqi military, Kurdish peshmerga forces and allied militia push forward in ajoint offensive under the air cover of the US-led international coalition torecapture Mosul, Iraq’s second-biggest city.

最近這兩次突襲發生之際，伊拉克軍隊、庫爾德“自由鬥士”(Peshmerga)武裝以及一些民兵組織正在美國領導的國際盟軍的空中掩護下發起聯合進攻，試圖奪回伊拉克第二大城市摩蘇爾。

The fight is expected to bethe biggest battle yet in a two-year struggle against Isis, and the biggestmilitary operation in Iraq since the 2003 US invasion.

這場戰鬥將成爲打擊伊斯蘭國的兩年鬥爭中最大規模的戰役，也是自2003年美國入侵伊拉克以來最大規模的軍事行動。

These surprise Isis assaultshighlight how vulnerable Iraq will be to attack even as it wrests back the last10 per cent of its territory still under the control of the Islamistinsurgents, who swept through northern Iraq in the summer of 2014 after itsstunning capture of Mosul.

伊斯蘭國此輪突襲凸顯了伊拉克對這些突然襲擊有多麼脆弱，即便該國正在奪回仍在伊斯蘭主義叛亂分子控制下的最後10%領土。2014年夏季，伊斯蘭國武裝在令人震驚地攻佔摩蘇爾之後，橫掃了整個伊拉克北部地區。

The attacks on Kirkuk andRutba also appear to be an attempt to draw away Iraqi forces — and localattention — just as the military gets within 10km of Mosul city limits. Iraqisecurity officials say militants co-ordinated with sleeper cells to launch theovernight attack on Rutba, which lies on an international highway around 110kmfrom the Jordanian border.

通過對基爾庫克和魯特巴發動襲擊，伊斯蘭國似乎試圖在伊軍挺進至摩蘇爾市10公里範圍之際分散其注意力。伊拉克安全官員稱，武裝分子在潛伏小組的配合下對魯特巴發動夜襲，距離約旦邊境約110公里的一條國際高速公路經過該鎮。

Pro-Isis media said the jihadiforce sent a suicide bomber into Rutba and had seized half the city. A localIraqi security official also confirmed that as much as half of Rutba could bein Isis hands and said military reinforcements had been sent in but would beunable to repel the militants until dawn.

親伊斯蘭國媒體表示，聖戰力量向魯特巴派遣了一名自殺炸彈襲擊者，並已佔領該鎮的一半。伊拉克一名地方安全官員也證實，魯特巴可能已有一半落入伊斯蘭國之手，並表示已派遣增援部隊，但可能無法在黎明前擊退武裝分子。

Some local media outlets saidthe jihadi fighters had taken over some of Rutba’s mosques, announcing theirreturn on loudspeakers. Security has been visibly tighter in many cities ofIraq and some towns have imposed curfews, said Faisal al-Essawi, mayor ofAmriyat al-Fallujah, near Baghdad.

當地一些媒體表示，聖戰力量接管了魯特巴的一些清真寺，在擴音器中宣告他們的迴歸。巴格達附近Amriyat al-Fallujah市的市長費薩爾.艾薩維(Faisal al-Essawi)表示，伊拉克許多城市的安保措施明顯加強，部分城鎮已實行宵禁。