Afghan forces destroy 6 heroin labs

The Afghan security forces have destroyed six heroin labs, as the war-hit country struggled to fight the narcotics, said Defense Ministry on Sunday.

The Afghan National Army's Special Forces carried out operations in Sangin and Naw Zad districts of southern Helmand province on Friday, destroying six heroin factories, it said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

Among the drugs and materials, 1,000 kg of morphine, over 16,000 kg of ammonium chloride, 277 barrels of a chemical substance which has been used in making heroin, were also destroyed, the statement added.

"One militant was killed and two others wounded as a result of the raids, which were conducted on confirmed tip-offs, and the security force also destroyed four vehicles, three motorcycles and six weighing scales," the statement noted.

Helmand, notorious for poppy growing, is also a known Taliban stronghold.

Some 4,800 tons of opium has been produced in Afghan provinces where government security forces had little presence in 2016, according to Afghan officials.

source: Xinhua