Kandahar, October 21:

Afghanistan’s insurgent Taliban told mobile telephone companies in the central province of Ghazni today 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 cell phones, had increased during the day, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.

Three of the country’s four mobile phone networks were down in the province, suggesting the companies had complied. They could not be immediately reached for comment.

“We have banned cell phone 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 120 km 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 mobile phone companies to turn off their towers at night in areas, including Ghazni.