BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- British military planners have put a battalion of 600 paratroopers on standby to jump into Afghanistan, amid fears that an Afghan government effort to wipe out opium poppy production could trigger heavy fighting with the Taliban this winter.

    The Airborne Task Force, a role currently filled by 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, is ready to fly to Afghanistan within 12 hours and be on the ground within 24 hours, The Sunday Times quoted senior British defence sources as saying.

    If the airborne landing is carried out as planned, it will be the first time that British paratroopers have jumped into action since Suez 50 years ago.

    Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, has told his fighters they will intensify their attacks this winter to "surprising" levels to drive out foreign infidels. In a message to Afghans marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday which concludes Ramadan, he said: "With the grace of Allah, the fighting will be increased...in the next few months."

    Last week, British diplomats warned that an Afghan government program to eradicate opium poppy growing in Helmand province where 4,200 British troops are based, was likely to trigger heavy fighting.

    The Afghan government will begin the campaign against the drug lords as early as next month, destroying poppy fields across the province. Helmand Governor Engineer Daoud is determined to carry out a program of "targeted eradication against the big boys who are growing on government land," according to a British diplomat.

    Taliban funds come not from cultivating the poppies but from providing protection to the drug lords, he said. The Taliban will therefore attack anyone trying to wipe out the poppy crop.

    (Agencies)