Palestinian militants using Google Earth

GAZA, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Fatah-allied Palestinian militants have said they are using the Google Earth program to help plan attacks on the Israeli military and other targets.

Members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade said the Internet-based mapping tool is used to help find targets for rocket attacks, The Guardian reported Thursday.

"We obtain the details from Google Earth and check them against our maps of the city center and sensitive areas," said Khaled Jaabari, also known as Abu Walid, commander of the group in Gaza.

Google released a statement in response to questions about the program's use by the al-Aqsa militants, saying it was aware of potential problems.

"We have paid close attention to concerns that Google Earth creates new security risks," the statement said. "The imagery visible on Google Earth and Google Maps is not unique: commercial high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery of every country in the world is widely available from numerous sources. Indeed, anyone who flies above or drives by a piece of property can obtain similar information."