Italian commandos operating in western Afghanistan captured four insurgents wanted for ''hostile actions'' and seized a major quantity of opium, defense ministry sources said on Wednesday.
The operation was carried out together with the Afghan army and the drugs were said to be used to finance anti-government activity.
''Earnings for the drug trade turn into weapons and ammunition for the insurrection. Afghan authorities are vigorously combating the drug trade with the support of the ISAF,'' a spokesman for the international allied force
Wednesday's operation took place in the province of Farah, located in southern part of the western region where ISAF forces are under Italian command.
After Helmand, it is the province which produces the most opium in Afghanistan, a nation which produces 90% of the world's opium.
Aside from combating insurgents, ISAF forces are also actively engaged in encouraging Afghan farmers to produce alternative crops to opium, which they are often forced to grow by anti-govenrment forces.
