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| Afghanistan |
| Air raids knock out Kabul phones |
| 2001-10-15 |
The latest U.S. air raids cut a major part of the Afghan capital's already limited communication links with the rest of the world. Ninety telephone links operated by a Chinese and Pakistani company to a microwave exchange at Lataband were cut, around 35 km east of the capital. The only remaining links are through the Afghan Wireless Company. The handful of international lines that existed at the start of the current fighting were mainly reserved for top Taliban officials. The United States is monitoring all communications in the country, which appear increasingly confined to easily intercepted satellite transmissions. Afghanistan's international communications are mainly through satellite telephones as most of the telephone system has been destroyed in more than two decades of warfare. The handful of international lines that existed at the start of the current fighting were mainly reserved for senior Taliban officials. Taliban Minister of Communications Mulawi Yar Mohammad Rahimi said in a March radio broadcast that government efforts to repair the old city systems had provided only a limited resumption of phone services. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |