KABUL, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants attacked a signal tower of a mobile telecommunication service company in Zabul province of southern Afghanistan, destroying a guards room near the tower, the police said Thursday.

    "Armed Taliban insurgents attacked the tower and the guards room of Areeba, a mobile phone service company, in Shar-e-Safa district of Zabul Wednesday night, destroying the room and power generator, but failed to damage the antenna," provincial police chief Mohammad yaqub told Xinhua via phone.

    It is the third time over the past two weeks that the anti-government insurgents have been attacking mobile phone towers in south Afghanistan since giving ultimatum to shut down signaling during nighttime.

    Armed personnel attacked and destroyed on March 1 two signal towers of Roshan, another mobile telecommunication service firm, separately in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

    Taliban militants in a blatant warning to mobile companies on Feb. 25 asked them to stop operation from 5 p.m. till 7 a.m. in Taliban-held areas, saying Afghan and foreign forces can track down militants through mobile phone signals.