Kandahar - Afghanistan's insurgent Taliban told cellphone companies in the central province of Ghazni on Tuesday to turn off their signal towers for 10 days or face a "reaction".
The Taliban leading council made the demand because Afghan and international military attacks, apparently launched on the basis of data from cellphones, had increased during the day, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.
Three of the country's four cellphone networks were down in the province, suggesting the companies had complied. They could not be immediately reached for comment.
"We have banned cellphone facilities during the day now for 10 days. Anyone who violates this decision will face a Taliban reaction," Mujahid said.
The 10-day period was to allow the group to assess if this affected military operations, he said. If it did, the ban would become permanent.
Ghazni, about 120km south of the capital Kabul, has seen a spike in Taliban attacks in at least the past year and has become one of the country's most at-risk provinces.
The extremist insurgents in February ordered cellphone companies to turn off their towers at night in areas, including Ghazni, where they have a strong presence or face attack.
Several were destroyed in bombings, fire or rocket strikes.
The night-time halt in service has held in districts of some provinces such as Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul where government authority is weak and the insurgents have some control.
The conservative Islamic Taliban were removed from government in a US-led invasion in late 2001 for harbouring al-Qaeda after the September 11 attacks that killed around 3 000 people in the United States.
They are waging an insurgency that has this year seen a record level of attacks, despite the efforts of around 60 000 international troops and growing Afghan security forces.
- AFP
Taliban threatens phone firms: World: News: News24
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