Old Images Peddled as Recent Visuals of US Military Carrying Airstrikes in Syria

We found that the images date back to March, when US carried out airstrikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria.

A set of two images which shows a huge explosion taking place is being shared on the internet as recent visuals from Syria.

What are users claiming?: Those sharing the images have said, "BREAKING: The US [United States] military has carried out MULTIPLE AIRSTRIKES on two locations in eastern Syria."

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

The context: According to a report in Associated Press (AP), US fighter jets launched airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria that were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

• The attack came as a retaliation for a series of missile and drone attacks against US bases and personnel.

What is the truth?: While the images are from Syria, they date back to March 2023 and are not recent as claimed. The images show US carrying out airstrikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria.

How did we find that out?: We performed a Google Lens search on the images and found the same ones uploaded on a X handle called 'Alerta Mundial'.

• The images were posted on 24 March 2023.

• Its caption when translated to English said, "BREAKING: Five soldiers were injured and one contractor was killed (all American) after an Iranian drone attacked a coalition base in Syria. In response, the US carried out precision airstrikes tonight."

🇺🇲🇸🇾 | ÚLTIMA HORA: Cinco soldados resultaron heridos y un contratista murió (todos estadounidenses) después de que un dron iraní atacara una base de la coalición en Siria. En respuesta, EE.UU realizó ataques aéreos de precisión esta noche. pic.twitter.com/0WlKz2e3VN

— Alerta Mundial (@AlertaMundial2) March 24, 2023

News reports: A report published in The Guardian, which carried the same visuals, said that US attacked Iran-linked groups in retaliation in Syria. The death toll rose to 19 as a result of the attack.

• It further mentioned that the US carried out the attack after a drone of "Iranian origin" struck a US-led coalition base near Hasakeh, which resulted in the death of a contractor and left one contractor and five military personnel injured.

Conclusion: It is clear that both these images are old and are falsely being shared as recent visuals of US military carrying two airstrikes in eastern Syria.

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