Srinagar: The Lashkar-e-Islam, the new North Kashmir wing of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, is behind recent attacks on telecom towers in Kashmir.
Sources said terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Islam believe that attacks on telecom towers will impact the interception capability of security forces. The Centre has asked the state government to shift mobile towers to secure areas.
Mobile connectivity has been disrupted in many parts of Kashmir as operators have shut down their services after repeated attacks on telecom towers. Justifying their move, tower owners have said that they are afraid of being targeted. Services across Sopore, Handwara, Pulwama and other areas have been disrupted.
Even though Lashker-e-Islam has claimed the responsibility for attacks on towers, the police has said that a terror outfit is behind attacks but Lashker-e-Islam is just a cover.
There have been a series of attacks to disrupt the mobile network in Jammu and Kashmir. The latest attack took place on June 1 where one person was injured. Earlier in a mobile tower had suffered significant damage in a grenade attack in Handwara area of Kupwara district on Saturday.
On May 25, guerrillas had killed a man and injured two others in Sopore town in an attack on a BSNL SIM card selling shop. On May 26, another person was killed in Dooru village on the outskirts of Sopore.
Following frequent attacks, telecom employees have stopped maintaining the mobile towers and those having franchise of telecom companies have distanced themselves from such services.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Tuesday directed police to ensure security of cellular towers and those manning them as some employees and franchises have stopped work following attacks and threats.
Concerned over the series of attacks on mobile phone towers in the Valley, the Centre also issued an advisory to the state government, asking it to ensure security of communication infrastructure and come out with an action plan to deal with terrorist threat.
The terrorists have targeted telecom facilities in north Kashmir over the last 10 days.
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