Clashes between Taliban insurgents and the Afghan army have left at least ten people dead in southern Afghanistan. Eight militants and two Afghan soldiers were killed on Tuesday in clashes in Helmand province, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Thirteen insurgents were taken prisoner after they surrendered to Afghan troops following a heavy exchange of fire.
The troops came under attack by the insurgents in Nadali town while they were on a drug control campaign in the region.
Opium production has significantly increased since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The United Nations estimates that almost 9000 tons of opium were cultivated in Afghanistan in 2007, with a street value of about $4 billion.
A recent UN Office on Drugs and Crime report says opium production has doubled in the past two years and that Helmand province is now the biggest single drug-producing area in the world -surpassing whole countries.