( dpa ) - Taliban militants destroyed the second telecoms tower in southern Afghanistan after warning the phone companies to shut down their night signals or face attacks, police said on Sunday.
A local police official in the province confirmed that Taliban militants destroyed an antenna of mobile phone company Roshan on Saturday night in Kandahar city.
The militants also burned a company generator, said the official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.
Provincial police chief Sayed Agha Saqib said authorities had strengthened the security around the telecoms towers in the province.
The attack came two days after the militants torched another telecoms tower in Zherai district of the same province after their Friday deadline to shut down all telephone signals from dusk to dawn expired.
The militants accused the US and NATO forces of tracking them using the mobile signals and then launching attacks on their hideouts.
Residents in some districts of Kandahar said on Sunday that they did not have Roshan phone signals for the past two nights. Officials from the company were unavailable for comment.
There are at least four telecommunication companies that provide coverage in almost all corners of Afghanistan. The firms are the most profitable foreign investments since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.