Islamic Sect Attacks Nigerian Phone Towers

Communications in the northeast crippled

A radical Islamist sect claimed responsibility Friday for attacks on mobile phone towers which have crippled communications in Nigeria's northeast, as security forces struggling to control the violence said they had gunned down seven suspected sect members.

At least 31 tower attacks occurred since Wednesday in six northern Nigerian states, from the central state of Kano to the far eastern state of Borno. The radical sect known as Boko Haram threatened six months ago to attack mobile phone companies.