The video circulated with the claim that the hideouts of the attackers in Kashmir are being set on fire is old. In the Indian-administered Kashmir's Pahalgam tourist area, at least 26 people, including an intelligence officer, were killed, and many others were injured in an armed attack last Tuesday (April 22). Following the attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the perpetrators would face "unimaginable punishment."

Even after four days since the Pahalgam massacre, no arrests have been made. Last Friday night (April 25), Indian security forces demolished and blew up the homes of five suspects across Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, a video claiming that the hideouts of terrorists involved in the Pahalgam killings are being set on fire has recently spread on social media. In the 26-second video, a house surrounded by dense greenery is seen burning, accompanied by loud gunfire sounds. Toward the end of the video, a person is seen firing indiscriminately at the house with a firearm.

The video was most widely shared from a Facebook page named Religion Concept, posted last Friday (April 25) at 12 p.m. The caption read, "Breaking: The hideouts of terrorists in Kashmir are being set on fire. Any house where Afzal is seen will be turned to ashes."

As of Saturday (April 26) at 11 a.m., the video had been viewed 26,000 times, received 95 reactions and two comments, and was shared 82 times. However, in terms of reactions, it spread most widely from a Facebook account named Arjun Roy. The video posted from this account at 11:24 a.m. last Friday (April 25) received 710 reactions. Additionally, the same video was posted with almost identical captions from Facebook accounts named Bidhan Roy, Saikat Ghosh, Kajol Chandra, and Bonomali Sarkar BJP.

By conducting a reverse image search on some keyframes of the video, the same scenes were found in a video report published on the YouTube channel of Excelsior News, an English-language national daily from Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The report was published on May 12, 2021. The color and position of the house, sounds of gunfire, environment, surrounding vegetation, and smoke patterns in the archived video match the recently circulated video.

From the English headline, it is understood that at that time, terrorists in the Kokernag subdivision of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir tried and failed to escape before being killed in a gunfight.

Using the publication date and details of the Excelsior News report, a search on Google found a report published on May 11, 2021, on the website of the Indian news outlet India Today.

According to the report, on May 11, 2021, three militants affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed in an encounter with Indian security forces in Vailoo village of Kokernag sub-division, Anantnag district, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The same information is also found in a report published on May 11, 2021, on the website of the Indian news agency ANI.

Therefore, the video circulated on social media claiming that the hideouts of the attackers involved in the Pahalgam incident are being set on fire is old. In reality, it is footage of a clash between security forces and militants that took place on May 11, 2021, in the Kokernag sub-division of Anantnag district, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

Original News Source: https://www.ajkerpatrika.com/fact-check/fact-check-international/ajpfogrbrgqqa