Free from Taliban captors, journalist thanks Twitter

Japanese journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka has said that if there was anything that saved him from being killed by his Taliban captors, it was his familiarity with the social networking site Twitter.

Recalling his harrowing experience in Taliban captivity, Tsuneko said that back in late June, circumstances looked bleak for him. He was on the brink of death, despite the militants keeping rations high and violence low.

But, according to The Times, good fortune was on Tsuneoka's side. After surviving those near-death fears, he learned that his Taliban abductors had an affinity for technology, including a host of junior members craving cell-phone access to Al-Jazeera.

That's when Tsuneoka made a life-saving suggestion. The journalist converted his camp of captors to Twitter, using it as a nexus to inform the rest of the world that he was alive.

Days later, he was released.

Tsuneoka's Muslim faith was also a factor in his unharmed return to Japan.

He stood freely before the Japanese media on Tuesday, quipping about his 140-characters-or-less treachery.

"I'm sure they never thought they were tricked," he said in Tokyo.