Thirty-four heroin labs were destroyed in southern Afghanistan Friday. The move was an effort by the hard-line Taliban militia to ban heroin production in the Islamic country.

Afghanistan is a leading producer of opium, from which heroin is derived. There are hundreds of small laboratories throughout the country where raw opium is refined to produce heroin powder. Many are near the border with Pakistan - a smuggling route to western countries.

The Taliban's top drug control authority said the destroyed labs are in the Nangarhar province, close to the Pakistani border. Abdul Hamid Akhundzada also said 15 people working in the labs were arrested during the raids.

The Taliban, which rules almost 90 percent of the country, has imposed a harsh version of Islamic law in the areas it controls. It says in a country under its law there is no room for drugs.

Countries in the West and the United Nations have been constantly demanding a crackdown on the heroin labs. The United States in particular has made a crackdown on the drug trade one of the main conditions for better relations with the Taliban.

The U.S. government has also asked that the Taliban set up a broad-based government and observe human rights, especially those of women and girls.