Taliban tapping British troops' mobiles to taunt soldiers' families
Chilling and annoying news in the Daily Express and Daily Mail today; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811
DAILY MAIL 22 AUG 07 Page 15
Taliban fanatics are tapping the mobile phones of British soldiers and calling their families to tell them their loved ones are dead.
They may also be using the calls home to pinpoint the positions of camps in Afghanistan's wartorn Helmand province.
Forces in Afghanistan have now been banned from using mobile phones to stop the infiltration.
It follows a similar ban in Iraq last year when numbers were also used to make threats.
The wife of an RAF officer received one of the calls and was told: "You'll never see your husband alive - we have just killed him."
When she rang the RAF she was told her husband was safe and well.
A senior Army source said: "Troops using their mobiles are presenting a huge security problem.
"The Taliban now have access to hi-tech security equipment which enables them to listen into conversations and track our movements.
"As in Iraq they can download numbers troops use with their phones.
"Any numbers going to England can then be called, or used to get addresses and to send poison-pen letters to relatives."
When a similar tactic was used in Iraq about 20 nuisance calls were made to relatives of British troops serving in Basra or Al-Amarah.
Intelligence analyst have tracked the taunting calls to numbers in Pakistan, a hotbed for Islamic extremism and the Taliban's main recruiting ground.
It is thought the calls are being intercepted by Pakistan's ISI spy agency, a known supporter of the Taliban, which may also be getting information from Iran.
Mobile phone security has only recently become an issue in Helmand as communications coverage has only recently been upgraded.
Mobiles now work at the main base, Camp Baston, in what has become known as Afghanistan's Desert of Death.
An Army spokesman said: "Mobiles have been withdrawn from personnel in Afghanistan for reasons of operational security.
"This has been well received by the troops who understand the reasons."
Nearly 6,000 British troops are based in Helmand.
I'm not nor ever have been in either current sandpit but is banning the use of mobile TFs the best option? What a morale booster that must be. How about briefing wives and families on this new interference and teach them some choice Muslim/Arabic insults? Perhaps something like "your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" Something basic that would really hurt barstewards.
Does this give the impression that the terrs have infiltrated the telephone networks or is my understanding of the technology flawed?