Following the launch of an operation against terrorists in Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, social media sites have been inundated with images purportedly showing bombardment in the area.

Claim:
A viral video circulating on social media shows aerial bombardments, heavy explosions, and building blasts, claimed to depict the Pakistani military’s recent strikes in Bajaur during Operation Sarbakaf.

Fact:
The footage is not from Bajaur. It is from a US-led coalition airstrike in Iraq in 2019.

A reverse image search reveals that the exact same video was published by Military.com on 10 September 2019, covering a US-led coalition airstrike on ISIS positions in northern Iraq. According to the report, the strike involved approximately 36 tons of munitions.

However, the accounts on X (formerly Twitter) attempting to substantiate this claim have been sharing a screenshot allegedly from CNN Arabic. This screenshot itself appears to be fabricated, as it does not link to any authentic CNN website, contains noticeable grammatical errors, and a reverse image search shows no record of the image having been previously posted by CNN.

Conclusion:
The viral video predates the Bajaur operation by nearly six years and has no connection to events in Pakistan. Sharing outdated or unrelated footage in the context of an ongoing military operation can mislead the public and fuel unnecessary tensions.

Verdict: False – An old video from Iraq has been misrepresented as Bajaur bombardment.