VOA标准英语2017--全线围攻ISIS

（单词翻译）

Iraqi security forces continue to make progress in their fight to liberate¹ the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS terrorists. Iraqi forces have succeeded in taking back Mosul International Airport said the commander of Combined Joint² Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Baghdad, Army Lieutenant³ General Stephen Townsend said Iraqi forces have "begun breaching⁴ into the outskirts⁵ of the city, with the Iraqi counterterrorism service, federal police and army moving along three axes of advance that clear the enemy from neighborhoods inside the city, but also enveloping⁶ the city to the west."

“This enemy's been preparing for this battle for some time," said General Townsend, "and they've done an extensive amount of work to dig and build barriers to complicate⁷ the Iraqi advance. We've seen them use. . . tunnels, shipping⁸ containers and vehicles in the streets to slow the [Iraqi forces] down, and they've rigged many of these barriers with explosives.”

The U.S.-led coalition⁹ continues to strike those barriers with precision fire to help the Iraqis advance, Townsend said.

ISIS has been dealt another significant blow in Syria, where Turkish-backed Syrian opposition¹⁰ forces have liberated¹¹ al-Bab, the last significant ISIS-controlled population center in the Aleppo district.Freeing al-Bab, said General Townsend, has closed the door to ISIS' supply line of new fighters and its ability to export terrorists around the world. The liberation of al-Bab also means Turkey now has secured its border from ISIS, the general noted¹².

“The coalition is committed to the security of Turkey and will continue to work in close coordination¹³ with partner forces and allies to deliver a lasting¹⁴ defeat to ISIS, which remains¹⁵ the greatest terrorist threat to the region and the world,” said General Townsend.

The coalition continues planning for the eventual¹⁶ liberation of Raqqa, ISIS's self-proclaimed capital, Townsend told reporters.“The liberation of Raqqa will bring an end to the enemy's mythology¹⁷ that they were ever more than a brutal¹⁸, murderous terrorist group. And then, we will continue working with our partners to deal them a lasting defeat."