Mobile phone and telecom towers seem to have become a major target of Maoists, who have destroyed nearly 70 such installations during the last three years in half a dozen Naxal-infested states.

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - LF to discuss Central ban on Maoists in core committee - Maoists strike before Chidamabaram's visit - CPI (Maoist) banned after recommendation from WB govt: Jaiswal - Talks with PCPA possible only if it lays down arms: govt - CRPF for precision-guided operations against Maoists - Orissa chalks out plan to protect tribal rights over land   Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - F&O Outlook: Expect firework in Dec series - Obama's approval goes below 50% in Gallup Poll - Tata, Honeywell's David Cote to co-chair Indo-US CEO Forum - India third largest economy by 2050: Carnegie Endowment More

In the latest attack, Maoists blew up three mobile phone towers in Koraput district of Orissa today when they struck in a big way barely hours before the visit of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to the state.

One of the communication towers at Kakiriguma, belonging to state-owned BSNL, was destroyed using landmines.

Today's incident came just two days after Maoists blew up a tower of a private telephone company in Gaya district of Bihar.

Concerned over frequent setback to telecommunication, hampering operations against the Naxals, the Home Ministry has offered that the towers could be located in the premises of para-military forces stationed in the troubled districts or in the campuses of police stations.

Home Ministry officials said the highest number of 20 towers were destroyed during the last three years in Chhattisgarh, where last year alone 14 mobile telephone towers of both private and government networks were attacked.

"Maoists believe police informers use mobile network to tip off security forces about their movements leading to arrests of several of their leaders and encounters," a senior official said.

Mobile phone towers located in Bihar faced the wrath of the Maoists, who blew up 14 of them last year, figures available with the Naxal Division in the Home Ministry showed.

Four other states where mobile telephone towers faced the brunt of Naxal attacks are Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, besides Orissa where the Maoists struck even today.

Jharkhand, which did not see any attack on mobile towers till 2007, saw nine such attacks in 2008 disrupting communication network in several Naxal-hit areas.

With mobile phones becoming increasingly popular during the last couple of years, 43 incidents of such attacks were reported last year alone.

Other Stories      - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - F&O Outlook: Expect firework in Dec series - Obama's approval goes below 50% in Gallup Poll - Tata, Honeywell's David Cote to co-chair Indo-US CEO Forum - India third largest economy by 2050: Carnegie Endowment More

Tags : Maoists | naxalites | orissa | mobile phone towers | chidambaram | home ministry   Read Business news in  Advertisements   Get financial advisory and solutions for your projects   Holidays starting at a delightful EMI of Rs 3481   Switch on and say hello to Monday morning !   Your dream home can now be a reality.   Visit Fortis for a preventive health check-up & get a 20% discount.   Follow the ups and downs of your investments. Try our new Portfolio Tracker   Kolkata Dock \ Freight contract for the British Gurkhas Nepal   Find how Midsize Businesses use ERP to gain competitive advantage   Trading in Forex is now as easy as 1-2-3   Discover an economical and cost effective way to market your products and services   Giftwithlove.com: Same day delivery of Flowers and Cakes to India   Download the E-book on the Future of Business Intelligence   Learn Best Practices for improving customer satisfaction   Know your customers better... download the free e-book on CRM