Insurgents Plant Mines to Prevent Destruction of Poppy Fields
Monday, 11 April 2011
Written by TOLOnews.com
Officials in Helmand provinces say farmers and Taliban insurgents in the province plant mines to prevent destruction of their poppy fields.
According to local officials 7,000 hectares of land in the southern Helmand province have been cleared of poppy.
The destruction of poppy fields in the provincial capital Lashkargah and 10 other districts is continuing, officials said.
The campaign has started a month ago.
Several soldiers of the counter-narcotics department have so far been killed in mine explosions and insurgent attacks in the province.
Dawood Ahmadi, a spokesman for Governor of Helmand province, said 1,300 hectares of land have been cleared of poppy in Marja district alone.
The people and farmers have also cooperated voluntarily by taking part in the destruction of poppy fields in Marja district.
The campaign is expected to be accomplished in less than a month.
Insurgents are believed to be active in some villages of Helmand.
There are around 10,000 UK troops deployed in the province.
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