Fact Check: Video of Kazakh military base blast passed off as 26 August Kabul bombing
A bomb blast outside Afghanistan’s Kabul airport killed 13 US troops and at least 60 Afghans on 26 August. Following this, several social media users started sharing videos that claimed to show the bomb blast.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 29 Aug 2021 9:00 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A bomb blast outside Afghanistan's Kabul airport killed 13 US troops and at least 60 Afghans on 26 August. Following this, several social media users started sharing videos that claimed to show the bomb blast. One such video claims to show two blasts near Kabul airport and says that 16 people were killed and over 30 wounded.
The caption reads, "Two Blast Near #Kabul_Airport. More than 16 people died and 30+ people wounded. #Blast21 #Blast #explosion #Afghanistan #Taliban #Talibans #KabulAiport #Kabul."
Fact Check
NewsMeter extracted a few keyframes from the video and performed a reverse image search which led us to a report by The Astana Times, a news organization in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It said the video shows a massive blast that rocked Kazakh military base in the Zhambyl region. According to the Emergency Situations Ministry, "at least nine people were killed and 90 wounded in a blast at a military unit stationed in the Zhambyl Region on the evening of Aug. 26."
It further said, "The blast occurred at 6.45 pm local time after a fire began at the military base in Baizak district, 30 kilometers from the city of Taraz, and quickly ignited the engineering ammunition that was stored there."
The same was also reported by TRT Haber, a Turkish news organization. The video was uploaded on 26 August and titled "Explosion at military ammunition depot in Kazakhstan." Media outlets Manila Bulletin (Philippines-based media organization) and RT News (Russian news organization) also reported the incident.
The RT News report read, "At least 30 people have been admitted to hospital following a huge explosion and fire near the Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border earlier today. The source of the explosion is not yet known, but the fire is believed to have spread to a local military warehouse."
It is clear that the viral video shows a blast at a military base in Kazakhstan and is not linked to the recent bombing near Kabul airport. Hence, the claim is false.
