The World - News from Dec. 31, 1986

Several high Afghan military officers were arrested for “poor performance” in nearly two weeks of fighting against guerrillas this month in the southern province of Kandahar, Western diplomats in Pakistan said. An estimated 300 Afghan troops were killed and 400 wounded in the Dec. 4-16 battles, they said. The diplomats in Islamabad said they were told that 450 civilians were killed Dec. 8 when Soviet planes bombed Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second largest city. The bombing touched off “serious street demonstrations,” the diplomats said, quoting Kabul reports.