Fact-check: Old and unrelated videos falsely linked to Bajaur
Reverse searches confirm the visuals originate from events in Iraq, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and earlier protests, not from Bajaur in 2025
Updated Tuesday Aug 12 2025
Late last month, after a fresh military campaign, codenamed Operation Sarbakaf, was launched against militants in Bajaur, videos and photos began circulating online claiming to have been filmed and photographed in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The claims are false. The video clips are old and unrelated to Bajaur.
Claim: An online user on X (Twitter) shared a picture showing multiple explosions with the hashtag #BajaurUnderStateAttack. The account claimed that the image was taken after a recent military operation in the northern district.
Fact: False. A reverse image search reveals that the image was first uploaded in 2019 and shows US warplanes dropping 40 tonnes of explosives on an island in northern Iraq to target an Islamic State hideout, as reported by Sky News.
Claim: A 25-second video circulating on social media purports to show women in Bajaur protesting against a military operation underway in the area.
Fact: The claim is untrue. A reverse image and keyword search found that the video was first posted online in 2021 and is not recent. Here is the link to the account that posted the video in November 2021.
Claim: A picture circulating online purports to show Pakistan Army officers carrying several coffins, which online users claim was taken after soldiers were martyred during the military campaign in Bajaur.
Fact: The picture was taken in August 2022 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and is not recent or related to Bajaur. At that time, The News reported that nine soldiers were martyred when a Pakistan Army vehicle met with an accident. The News report can be read here
Verdict: Multiple images and videos shared online claiming to show the aftermath of Operation Sarbakaf in Bajaur are old and unrelated to the recent military campaign. Reverse searches confirm the visuals originate from events in Iraq, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and earlier protests, not from Bajaur in 2025.
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