Taliban Maintain Poppy Crackdown, US Fears Farmers’ Return to Cultivation

FILE - Taliban acting Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, center, speaks at a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 31, 2023. FILE - Taliban members destroy a poppy field in Washir district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 29, 2022.

Afghanistan's Taliban government is touting major strides in combating drug production and trafficking over the past year.