Old photos, videos shared alongside claim of Jaish leader Masood Azhar’s death

The news of Jaish-e-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar’s death in a blast in Pakistan has been circulating widely on social media. Users have shared several photos and a video claiming that the terrorist was killed on New Year’s Day i.e., January 1, 2024.

An X (Twitter) handle named Times Algebra shared a few pictures and a video of a bomb blast and claimed that the most wanted terrorist Masood Azhar, who was returning from Bahawalpur Mosque in Pakistan, was killed in a bomb blast at 5 am. (Archived link)

BIG BREAKING NEWS – As per unconfirmed reports, Most wanted terrorist, Kandhar hijacker Masood Azhar, has been kiIIIed in a bomb expIosion by UNKNOWN MEN at 5 am 🔥🔥

He was going back from Bhawalpur mosque. UNKNOWN MEN working even on New Year day ⚡

He was the chief of Terror… pic.twitter.com/XG97TMmIE8

— Times Algebra (@TimesAlgebraIND) January 1, 2024

Right-Wing troll account Syed Rizwan Ahmed shared a picture of Masood Azhar along with images of a car accident and arson, claiming that most wanted terrorist Masood Azhar had been killed in a bomb blast. (Archived link)

A user named Shunya also shared the viral video and accompanying claim. (Archived link)

Twitter handle @SouleFacts also tweeted a viral video and a picture of a person lying on a stretcher, claiming that terrorist Masood Azhar had died in a bomb blast. (Archived link)

Fact Check

Alt News performed a reverse image search using a frame taken from the viral clip. We found another instance of this video uploaded by Pakistani political leader Ali Wazir on November 3, 2023. In the tweet, he stated that a bomb blast had taken place in the Pakistani city of D.I (Dera Ismail) Khan, killing 5 people and injuring 21. While sharing some of his pictures, Ali Wazir wrote that he reached the hospital on the evening of November 3 to meet the victims. We also came across reports related to the blast which stated that on November 3, a bomb exploded next to a police vehicle killing five. The video was also uploaded on YouTube on November 3. This confirms that this video is not from January 1, 2024, and is much older.

A very tragic incident of bomb blast in D I khan today. 5 lost and 21 injured. This evening visited at hospital to share the their pains.

This dollar war which is imposed on us by sick minded generals.#StopStateTerrorism#StopPakiMafia pic.twitter.com/4anp7L2iVJ

— Ali Wazir (@Aliwazirna50) November 3, 2023

When we performed a reverse image search on the photos shared in the viral tweets, we found that these were also old. These images can be compared in the graphic below.

First image

We performed a reverse image search on photos used in the tweet by Times Algebra, and found that the picture of the mangled car was published on a news website from Pakistan on September 15, 2019. The same photo has also been used as a file photo by other websites. It is, however, evident that this image is more than three-year-old.

Second image

When we performed a reverse image search of the second image from Times Algebra’s tweet, we found it was published on the Reuters website on April 21, 2021. According to the story, a bomb exploded in the parking lot of a luxury hotel in Quetta, Pakistan, in which four people died and 11 were injured. This confirms that this picture is more than two-year-old.

Third image

In the case of the third viral image, that of a man seemingly on a hospital bed, we found it in a tweet by Pakistani news website ‘The Khorasan Diary’ on December 27, 2023. According to the tweet, Maulana Muhammad Amin was seriously injured in firing in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area of Pakistan. According to the police, Amin was admitted to hospital.

To sum up, a number of old photos and a video are being falsely linked to the reported death of terrorist Masood Azhar. Alt News can not independently confirm the news of the Jaish leader, but it is certain that the photos and videos being circulated with this claim are old.