Taliban blamed for deadly mobile virus

The Taliban has been blamed by the Afghan government for spreading a rumour that a deadly virus is being transmitted via mobile phones.

The rumour, which began Sunday, says that anyone answering calls from unknown numbers or codes would contract a fatal disease.

Due to the panic caused by the rumour, Afghan officials were forced to address the issue in public. “I find it necessary to assure the people that the rumour spreading around the city is absolute nonsense, it’s baseless,” said an interior ministry spokesman who added that “it is the work of the enemy [Taliban].”

The rumour suggests that anyone who answers an ‘infected’ call will start bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears, followed by a swift death.

Pakistan suffered similar rumours last week.