350 acres of hashish land destroyed in W. Afghanistan

HERAT, Afghanistan, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have destroyed 350 acres of hashish farms over the past two months in western Herat province, head of the counter-narcotics force in the province Mawlawi Hayatullah Rohani said Monday.

The operations have covered Enjil, Gazara, Shindand, Adraskan, Farsi, Obe and Zawal districts, the official said, adding that his administration would continue to fight poppy cultivation, hashish and all kinds of illegal crops used in manufacturing illicit drugs in the province.

The counter-narcotics police have destroyed more than 5,000 acres of poppy and hashish fields across Herat province over the past five months, according to the official.

Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban-run administration, in a decree issued in April banned the cultivation of illegal crops including poppy and hashish as well as drug processing and trafficking. Since then, the security forces have been cracking down on narcotics in the country.