On March 5, Amar Ujala published a report titled, “बालाकोट: मदरसा छात्र ने बताया- रात को हुआ था जबरदस्त धमाका, पाकिस्तानी सेना ने हमें बचाया (Balakot: A Madrasa student told that – A tremendous explosion had happened at night, Pakistani army evacuated us -translated)”. The article also carried a photo with a target symbol on a building, while the text below the photo said, “वायुसेना का टारगेट (Air Force’s target)”.
U.S air strike in Syria (2014)
The image attached to the Amar Ujala’s article pertains to an U.S air strike aimed at ISIS targets in September 2014. A report published by Daily Mail on October 4, 2014 stated, “The targets of the strikes were fighters from the Khorasan Group, which is how the U.S. government refers to a cell of al Qaeda veterans who had relocated to Syria from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region”. In accordance to the article, the caption below the image states, “Strike: In September a US-led coalition launched air strikes in Syria against members of ISIS – the extremist Islamic group occupying territory in Iraq and Syria – but also went after a little-know group called Khorasan”.
A video of the air strike against the ISIS, carried out by the U.S military was released by the U.S Department of Defense, can be seen here.
In conclusion, an image pertaining to an U.S air strike in Syria was misleadingly shared as of IAF air strike on Balakot.
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