No mobile phones, no landlines, no Internet – that is the message anti-U.S. rebels have recently received from their commanders.
The message is believed to have even spread in neighboring states as part of the package of instructions foreign fighters receive before heading to Iraq.
“You are not to use electronic communication or even land lines when communicating,” said a leaflet which the groups distributed recently.
The instructions are apparently a response to what are described as ‘moderate successes’ U.S. troops have achieved in the past few weeks in their fight to flush out rebel cells.
Internet material, mobile messages and phone calls which the rebels use are now the U.S. military’s major source of intelligence.
“The U.S. army has carried out successful raids in the light of the tips obtained from the Internet and mobile phones,” said a source close to a major armed group involved in fighting the Americans.
“Therefore we have decided to rely on oral or written messages,” he said.
He said U.S. technicians and intelligence officers now have the ability to “intercept electronic messages and trace their source … They have also developed quick measures to respond.”