Cell Tower in Afghanistan (Photo from the Freerepublic)

Taliban Orders Mobile Shutdown In Afghan Province -- Reuters

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents said on Tuesday they had told mobile phone operators to shut down their networks during the day in the Ghazni province, southwest of Kabul, saying signals help track insurgent fighters.

The warning comes on top of a Taliban order earlier this year for phone operators to turn off their networks throughout the country at night.

"We have informed mobile companies operating in Ghazni to turn off their signals during the daytime now as it endangers the lives of our fighters," Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman told Reuters.

"We want the companies to cut off their signal for 10 days from now," he said, adding that the order might be extended.

Five mobile operators, three of them foreign companies, with an estimated investment of several hundred million of dollars, have set up business in Afghanistan since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001.

Taliban insurgents in the past have destroyed several mobile phone towers in the south causing resentment among residents for whom mobile phones are a vital means of communication.

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My Comment: The use of the cell phone has been one of the most effective anti-terrorism/insurgency tools used in Iraq. I am sure that they can be just as effective in Afghanistan .... and the Taliban are well aware of that fact.