TAJIK FIGHTERS CAUGHT IN RUSSIAN-MASOOD PINCER.

Using artillery and airpower, Russian border troops yesterday killed some 30 Tajik opposition fighters from a 100-strong detachment under a noted field commander, Junaidullo, which was attempting to cross the Panj river from Afghanistan into Tajikistan. The detachment was simultaneously attacked from the rear by troops of Afghan commander Ahmad Shah-Masood. He cooperates with the Russians in policing the Tajik-Afghan border in a small area that he still controls after being routed by the Taliban. (Russian and Western agencies, June 10)

Yeltsin May Sack Maverick Governor.