A video has gone viral on social media, claiming to show Afghan forces shooting down a Pakistani helicopter along the disputed Durand Line in Kurram.
The video is being shared with a caption: “Afghan forces shot down. Pakistan Army Helicopter along the disputed Durand line in Kurram.”
The viral clip shows the fighter preparing the weapon and firing at the helicopter. The missile hits the gunship’s tail, causing it to spin, explode, and crash to the ground. The crew is not seen ejecting. A voice, likely the fighter filming, then shouts congratulations. (Archive Link)
FACT CHECK
Newsmobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be false.
Performing a Reverse Image Search of the viral video keyframes, the NM team found visuals on multiple media reports in the Daily Mail, The Mirror, Washington Post and The Sun, dated May 16, 2016.
According to the report in The Mirror, Kurdish militants fighting Turkish armed forces filmed themselves blowing a helicopter using a rocket launcher. The shocking footage shows a fighter of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) fire on a Turkish AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter using an SA-18 MANPADS (man-portable air defense system) missile launcher.
The same visuals had also been uploaded on the YouTube channel of Aaj Tak, dated May 17, 2016, with a title: Turkey Helicopter Downed By Russia-made Missile In Fatal Attack.
The description of the video reads: “Jaw-dropping footage from Turkey shows fighters loading a Russian-made MANPADS surface-to-air missile launcher. Moments later, a missile is hurtling towards a distant helicopter, smashing its rear rotor off and sending it into a tailspin…” This confirms that the viral clip is old and unrelated to the ongoing Pak-Afghanistan unrest.
We also found a report carrying a screengrab from the viral video covered by a Turkish media organisation Rudaw Net which dates back to 2016. The same visuals has been shared by Reddit and social media users as well.
Hence, it is evident that the viral video, claiming to show Afghan forces shooting down a Pakistani helicopter along the disputed Durand line in Kurram, is misleading.
