stronghold 復習
モスル奪還作戦を進めているイラク軍は、市の中央を流れているチグリス川の東岸に到達しました。
Iraqi forces reach Tigris in Mosul
Iraqi special forces battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant reached the eastern bank of the Tigris river in Mosul on Sunday for the first time in a three-month, U.S-backed offensive to capture the city from the militants, who still control its entire western half.
The group also claimed attacks at two Baghdad markets in which 20 people were killed, the latest in a spate of bombings, tactics to which Islamic State is resorting as it comes under pressure in Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq.
Units of Iraq’s elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) have fought their way to the eastern bank of the Tigris, spokesman Sabah al-Numan said.
以下省略
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003448647
今回取り上げるのはstrongholdです。『ライトハウス英和辞典』（第5版 研究社）で調べると、可算名詞で「とりで、要塞、（思想などの）本拠、拠点」とありました。LDOCEには “an area where there is a lot of support for a particular way of life, political party etc” や “an area that is strongly defended by a military group” などと定義されております。
今回は “its last major stronghold” でモスルがイスラム国の最後の本拠地であることを表していると思われます。
要塞と聞くとfortがぱっと浮かびますが、strongholdも合わせて覚えておきたいです。(aqua)
