Soviets' Afghan control appears all but complete

Western diplomats said Monday that Soviet troops appeared to have taken control of all major towns and highways in Afghanistan, but rebel leaders claimed some successes in the eastern provinces.

"We have had no reports of any major action by either side over the past four or five days," a diplomat in Islamabad, Pakistan, said.

But Muhammad Khalil, a leader of the Jammiat-l-Islami, or Islamic Society of Afghanistan, said serious fighting had been raging since Jan. 8 and was continuing in the eastern province of Kunnar.