Iraqi authorities on Sunday liquidated about six tons of drugs, including huge piles of cannabis, Captagon and cocaine, in what officials said was the biggest destruction in more than a decade, AFP reported. 

The drugs were reportedly stacked in pits dug in the sand, filled with fuel and set on fire.

The country's health minister, Saleh al-Hasnawi, speaking at an event near a military base near the capital Baghdad, said it was the first destruction operation of this magnitude since 2009.

Drugs were seized by forces at border crossings and other facilities in Iraq, he said, and some had been stored for several years.

Security forces have stepped up counter-narcotics operations in recent years, announcing drug seizures and arrests of drug traffickers almost daily.

The country has also seen an increase in domestic drug sales and consumption in recent years.