Stoessel: 3,000 Afghans perished

Soviet artillery and air bombardment killed hundreds of civilians this year in attacks on Kandahar and Herat, two of Afghanistan's major cities, Deputy Secretary of State Walter Stoessel told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mr. Stoessel also said reports from Afghan defectors and refugees indicate more than 3,000 people died in Soviet attacks with lethal chemical weapons between 1979 and 1981.

''Analysis of all of the information available leads us to conclude that attacks have been conducted with irritants, incapacitants, nerve agents, phosgene oxime, and perhaps . . . mustard, lewisite, and toxic smoke,'' Mr. Stoessel said.