The World - News from June 5, 1986

Nicaraguan officials said at least 2,500 U.S.-backed rebels have been killed so far this year in a counterinsurgency campaign that has prevented the contras from mounting major offensives. The rebel radio station has claimed several recent victories in the battle to topple the Sandinistas, but the official newspaper Barricada said the contras “no longer have the military capacity to mount a major offensive.”