Taliban Burn MTN Communication Tower in Ghazni, Afghanistan

Telecom towers coming under new attacks.

Oregon and Wisconsin National Guard soldiers on a patrol in Ghazni, Afghanistan in early 2006. Photo by Tim King Salem-News.com

(GHAZNI, Afghanistan) - Taliban militants burned an MTN mobile tower Thursday night in Qala Baran, in the Qarabagh district of Afghanistan's Ghazni province.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that they destroyed this tower because it didn’t work by Taliban regulations. Five months ago, the Taliban asked mobile companies to switch off their towers between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM.

One of the local residents who goes by the name of Naser, said that all mobile towers in this area were switched off from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM but the MTN was working until 9:00 PM.

The Chief of the district of Qarabagh said that, "3 armed men with motorcycles went to area and burnt the tower" according to reports. He said that the armed men didn’t harm the tower security guard. Afghan National Police were sent to the area to investigate.

The tower was located between Ghazni and Kandahar highway and was also the target of an arson attack 5 months ago.

This is the 6th tower in this district which has been destroyed during the year. Afghan security experts believe that the insecurity in Afghanistan is being fueled by Pakistani ISI, which is increasingly targeting business and infrastructure in Afghanistan.

Mobile telephone companies have been arguably the most successful businesses in Afghanistan since 2001.

Recently the NDS announced that 3,000 militants were being sent to Afghanistan to target infrastructure projects.

A suicide attack on Friday in Zaranj also seems to be targeting a city likely to become a key conduit for trade for Afghanistan as a result of the Chabahar Port project in Iran.

----------------------------------------------------------

Courtesy: Afghanistan News Center, quqnoos.com & PAN