Fact-Check: Edited Image of Israeli Soldiers Holding ISIS Flag Shared as Real

The original image shows flag of African Lion, an annual exercise by US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

An image showing several uniformed soldiers holding flags of Israel and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) an extremist militant group is going viral on the internet.

(Archives of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This image is edited.

• The original photo shows the IDF contingent of soldiers from the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion in Morocco.

• They are seen holding flags of Israel and African Lion, an annual exercise by US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search which led us to an article shared by The Times of Israel on 5 June 2023.

• The report carried the same image but it did not include an ISIL or ISIS flag.

• It stated that it shows 12 troops from an Israeli military infantry brigade, Golani Patrol, participating in an exercise named 'African Lion', an American-led military drill held in Morocco.

• This joint annual drill involved over 8,000 service members, and ran between 13 May to 18 June 2023.

• Another report by Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), a news agency, also shared the same information.

• It also included a post shared by the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) official X (formerly Twitter) account which carried the original image.

• This was shared on 5 June 2023 and the caption also mentioned that it shows IDF's Golani patrol unit was 'African Lion 2023'.

Conclusion: Clearly, an image was edited to claim that Israeli soldiers are holding the Israeli flag along with an ISIS flag.

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