KABUL (AP) — The U.S. is stepping up its commitment to the war on drugs in Afghanistan. Washington has agreed to hand out millions of dollars in aid in provinces that eliminate or reduce opium poppy crops, the key ingredient in the production of heroin.
Afghanistan produces 90 percent of the world's supply of opium, with officials claiming that the country's drug trade helps fund the Taliban.
The U.S. has already distributed $80 million to reduce poppy crops since 2007.
Almost all of Afghanistan's opium is grown in the Taliban strongold of Helmand province. Officials there will receive the maximum $10 million for reducing cultivation by a third under a major operation launched during the summer.
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