Taliban blamed for 'deadly phone virus' rumour

Afghan authorities on Monday blamed Taliban militants for spreading a rumour that a deadly virus is being transmitted via mobile telephones.

The rumour, which raced like wildfire late Sunday among the country's estimated two million cellphone users, said that anyone answering calls from certain numbers or codes would contract a fatal disease.

"There are some numbers which contain the virus. As soon as you answer your phone blood comes out of your mouth, nose and ears and you die," said Kabul resident Mohammad Akter, who said he was told about the virus by a friend.

With more than 70 percent of Afghanistan's people receiving little or no education, rumours and superstitions have been used previously as political and military tools.

State media quoted the head of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority as saying on Saturday that it was "scientifically and technically" not possible to transmit a virus to humans from a mobile.