Profits from Afghanistan’s poppy trade are thought to flow to Taliban fighters, prompting U.N. efforts to eradicate the crop

Afghanistan’s counternarcotics minister has resigned only weeks after Afghan laborers finished cultivating an opium poppy crop that is expected to equal or exceed last year’s record haul.

Habibullah Qaderi’s resignation, confirmed by a deputy minister Sunday, came as U.S. and Afghan officials debate privately whether to use herbicides to reduce the drug problem.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai rejected that approach for the 2007 growing season, partly because some Afghans fear the chemicals could affect livestock, legitimate crops and drinking water, fears the U.S. says are unfounded.

Much of the profit from the country’s $3.1 billion drug trade is believed to fund Taliban fighters waging a violent campaign against the government. Officials said Sunday recent clashes between police and insurgents left 11 suspected militants dead in the south, while Taliban fighters ambushed police in Kandahar province, wounding 15 officers.

Qaderi submitted his resignation to the president about five days ago, said Gen. KhUdaydad, the deputy minister. The resignation was voluntary and driven in part by health problems, he said, though Qaderi has taken a new position in Canada as Afghanistan’s consulate general.