Saturday, January 13, 2007

Terrorists Using Google Earth to Identify Targets in Iraq

From the Telegraph:
Terrorists attacking British bases in Basra are using aerial footage displayed by the Google Earth internet tool to pinpoint their attacks, say Army intelligence sources.

Documents seized during raids on the homes of insurgents last week uncovered print-outs from photographs taken from Google.

The satellite photographs show in detail the buildings inside the bases and vulnerable areas such as tented accommodation, lavatory blocks and where lightly armoured Land Rovers are parked.

Written on the back of one set of photographs taken of the Shatt al Arab Hotel, headquarters for the 1,000 men of the Staffordshire Regiment battle group, officers found the camp's precise longitude and latitude.
While the terrorists apparently do seem to be smart enough to use common internet tools to their advantage, any AP or Reuters executive will assure you that there's absolutely no chance that terrorists have infiltrated western wire services in order to present their propaganda to western audiences as "news."