KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) discovered six weapons caches in an operation in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, an ISAF press release said Friday.

    The weapons caches, discovered on Thursday, contained a large amount of weapons and IED making materials, including 340 pounds of home-made explosives, 17 hand grenades, an RPG launcher, and numerous small arms and ammunition, the press release added.

    Most of the materials were destroyed on site, it further said.

    In another operation in of southern Kandahar province, Afghan National Police and ISAF forces seized 1,000 pounds of hashishm when searching a building in the province's Arghandab district, ISAF press release said. The drugs were destroyed on site.

    The southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces, the stronghold of Taliban militants, have been the scene of skirmishes and Taliban-led insurgency over the past several years.