Taliban aims to control rural phones

KABUL, Afghanistan | Taliban forces have discovered a novel tactic to move undetected through strongholds at night - blow up cellular telephone towers unless local officials turn off the networks from dusk to dawn.

The strategy has been used widely in rural areas of Kandahar and Helmand provinces in southern Afghanistan midwinter, said U.S. officials, who estimate that at least 50 towers have been attacked in Helmand province alone.

U.S. officials, however, said the tactic is just as likely to alienate locals, who have grown accustomed to keeping in touch with family and friends and view the spread of cellular networks to rural areas as a sign of progress.

Mark Laity, the senior NATO spokesman in Kabul, said it is common for towers to be turned off for at least part of the night in areas where insurgent presence is strong.

“The perception is that the Taliban believes it gives them extra security against ISAF forces,” Mr. Laity said, referring to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, which includes about 33,000 U.S. troops.

“The Taliban, on the one hand, believes they can exert some control against the government. On the other hand, it’s an extremely unpopular move amongst the public, who not only value the mobile phones but need them,” he said. They view their ability to communicate by cell phone as a sign of progress, and “resent what’s happening to them.”

In the Arghandab valley about 10 miles northwest of Kandahar city, the network was down at night when Taliban fighters began arriving earlier this month in fully armed groups of 30 to 50, declaring that they were in charge.

Hundreds of families fled the area, many to stay in relatively secure Kandahar city in anticipation of a coming battle with NATO and Afghan forces.

Reports from Afghan forces at the time said the Taliban had blown up bridges and taken control of about 10 villages in the valley, known for its lush grape and pomegranate orchards.

Accounts of the 24-hour battle that followed, involving NATO and Afghan troops, varied by degree, depending on whether Afghan or U.S. officials were speaking.

Afghan forces were eager to demonstrate their effectiveness just days after a June 13 attack on Kandahar prison that included two suicide bombers to burst inside and cars waiting outside to whisk away escapees.

Up to 400 Taliban prisoners have been freed, by some accounts.

Afghan forces said nearly 100 insurgents were killed in the battle to regain control of the Arghandab valley.

U.S. officials were more cautious, saying NATO patrols had encountered only light resistance.

Nevertheless, both Afghan and U.S. officials agreed that the Taliban fighters were gone.

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