Afghan internet down after 'Taliban ordered cut'

The Taliban have ordered internet and mobile phone data services to be cut across Afghanistan, diplomatic and industry sources say, as residents and monitoring services reported no connectivity and disruption to flights and financial services.

The Afghan administration offered no immediate explanation for the outage and could not be reached for comment.

The United Nations called on authorities to fully restore connections.

In the past, the Taliban have voiced concern about online pornography, and authorities cut fibre-optic links to some provinces in recent weeks, with officials citing morality concerns.

"The cut in access has left Afghanistan almost completely cut off from the outside world, and risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people," the UN said in a statement.

Afgh