Taliban Messes Up Tweet, Gives Away Spokesman’s Location

FILE -- In this Sunday Aug. 5, 2012 file photo, a Pakistani Taliban militant holds a rocket-propelled grenade at the Taliban stronghold of Shawal, in Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, Pakistan. Pakistani offici... FILE -- In this Sunday Aug. 5, 2012 file photo, a Pakistani Taliban militant holds a rocket-propelled grenade at the Taliban stronghold of Shawal, in Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, Pakistan. Pakistani officials said Saturday that it is investigating whether the son of the founder of the powerful Haqqani militant network, Badruddin Haqqani, was killed in a U.S. drone strike this week. The U.S. has long viewed the Haqqani network as one of the biggest threats to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan as well as the country’s long term stability. (AP Photo/ Ishtiaq Mahsud, File) MORE LESS
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An apparently errant tweet by the Taliban’s spokesman in Afghanistan gave his location as being in neighboring Pakistan.

On Friday, a tweet by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claiming an attack included geolocation information that suggested he sent the message from Sindh, Pakistan.

Mujahid later sent a tweet Saturday describing the location leak as an “enemy plot.” He also offered his Afghan telephone number to confirm his identity and wrote: “With full confidence, I can say that I am in my own country.”

Twitter says such geolocation data is based on latitude and longitude data or other information provided by users at the time of their message.

In an explanation of geolocation, Twitter itself warns: “Remember, once you post something online, it’s out there for others to see.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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