KABUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have shut down 10 clandestine heroin processing laboratories and seized thousands of kilograms of illicit drugs in southern Helmand province, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Sunday.

Counter-narcotics units carried out targeted operations on the outskirts of Baghran district of the province, destroying the facilities and recovering 21,800 kg of substances used in heroin production, the ministry said in a statement.

The Afghan authorities have intensified their nationwide crackdown on narcotics trafficking and production, pledging to continue operations until poppy cultivation and heroin manufacturing are eradicated. ■