An Afghan task force seized more than 15 tons of opium in raids on illegal drug laboratories as part of President Hamid Karzai’s crackdown on what he calls the nation’s biggest threat.

Afghans gathered on a football pitch today and watched soldiers burn a pyre topped with more than half a ton of poppies today - a public display of the government’s commitment to purge the country of drugs.

An Afghan warlord is preparing to attack a suspected mountain hideout of Osama bin Laden.