Fact Check: Old video from Iraq falsely linked to Russia-Ukraine conflict
A video of soldiers walking into a building amid heavy firing is being shared with the claim that it is from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
By Tejal Sinha Published on 15 March 2022 9:14 AM IST
Hyderabad: A video of soldiers walking into a building amid heavy firing is being shared with the claim that it is from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Fact Check
The claim is false.
We watched the viral video carefully and saw a text that read, "Task Force Viper & The 36th Commando Bn Killed 4 enemy, captured 25 enemies and secured the Shrine intact"
Taking a cue from this, we performed a keyword search and found that the 36th Commando Battalion is one of the Iraqi special operations units and the Viper Task Force is a contingent of the US Forces.
We performed a Google reverse image search and found a video uploaded on a verified YouTube channel called 'FUNKER530 - Veteran Community & Combat Footage'. It was uploaded on 29 August 2020. The title of the video reads, "Historical US Special Forces Raid On Golden Mosque." Visuals similar to the viral video can be seen from the 01:44-minute mark.
We found another video uploaded on the YouTube channel 'Combat Footage' on 25 March 2021. The title of the video read, "US and Iraqi Special Forces Raid On Golden Mosque, October 1st, 2004, Samarra, Iraq."
According to the description of the video, "During the Battle for Samarra, also know as Operation Baton Rouge. US special forces and the 36th Iraqi Commando Battalion were in this assault. 25 Iraqi insurgents were captured and 4 were killed in this raid (sic)."
On 22 October 2010, The Guardian had reported the attack that took place on 1 October 2004. According to the report, "It was just after midnight on 1 October 2004, 17 months to the day since George Bush had announced the end of US combat operations in Iraq. The city of Samarra, 80 miles north of Baghdad, had become a no-go area for US forces with insurgents ensconced in all the main civic buildings as well as its famous al-Askari mosque. Of the tens of thousands of battles reported in the Iraq war logs, few compare in their graphic detail to the account of Operation Baton Rouge, the effort to retake Samarra. It encapsulates the harsh reality of asymmetric war massive firepower against small groups of insurgents in heavily populated streets."
It is evident that the claim made through the viral post is false. The viral video has nothing to do with the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war.
