Video of recent explosive attack on FC convoy in Balochistan’s Noshki

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan reviewed this content and determined that it is misleading.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to investigate whether the video was linked to the recent Noshki bus attack or not.

Posts from several Indian accounts on social media platform X on March 16, 2025, shared a video of a bus explosion, claiming it to be from a recent attack on a Frontier Corps (FC) convoy in Balochistan’s Noshki district. However, the video was of a January 2025 attack in Turbat.

At least five people, including three security men, were martyred while about 40 troops sustained injuries on March 16 after militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a security convoy near Noshki on the Quetta-Taftan highway.

Militants in Balochistan have recently intensified their attacks, among which the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group continues to terrorise the province and has now adopted new tactics to cause higher casualties and directly target Pakistani security forces.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 16, a digital news page on X, which shares news updates from all around the world, shared a video of a bus travelling on the road with other vehicles when an explosion hit it. The account also shared a picture of a charred bus surrounded with men wearing military uniforms as well as casual clothes.

The post’s caption said: “Breaking: Shocking footage: CCTV captures the Baloch Liberation Army’s IED/suicide attack in Noshki, Balochistan. The BLA claims to have killed 90 Pakistani soldiers, while officially reports only 12 FC personnel killed and dozens injured.”

The post gained 52,300 views.

An Indian user, who according to their bio works as an executive editor for Indian-Telugu channel TV9 network, also shared the video and wrote in their caption, “Days after Pakistan train hijack, BLA militants ram an explosive-laden vehicle into a paramilitary convoy in Pakistan, killing five people. Baloch Liberation Army says it carried out a ‘Fidayee’ (SVBIED) attack on Pakistan’s military convoy in Noshki. BLA claims they’ve killed 90 Pakistani soldiers, but Pakistan Army disputes this info, and says only 5 dead. Conflicting death tolls, wonder who’s telling the truth.”

The post received 8,000 views.

The footage was shared by multiple other Indian accounts as can be seen here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality, significant public interest in the recent terrorist attacks and concerns about the visuals of the attack.

A reverse image search yielded the same video in an X post, dated January 4, 2025. The post also mentioned a suicide bomber attacking an army bus, but mentioned the location of Turbat.

A keyword search of “BLA Turbat Attack” on Funker530, a website that contains combat footage and military news for the veteran community, yielded the same video.

The description of the video read, “The BLA claimed responsibility for a vehicle borne improvised explosive attack that targeted a Pakistan Frontier Corps motorcade in the vicinity of Turbat, in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan region. The blast, which occurred on January 4, 2025, reportedly killed 4-6 Pakistani paramilitary troops and injured as many as 40 more.”

A report from English news outlet Dawn, published on the same day of January 2025, confirmed the details of the attack in Turbat mentioned in the video description, thus dismissing the claim of it being from the recent bus attack in Noshki.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim that a viral video of a bus explosion shows the recent suicide attack on an FC convoy in Balochistan’s Noshki is misleading.

The video is actually of a similar attack targeting an FC bus in Turbat in January 2025 and is unrelated to the Noshki attack despite the similar nature of the two incidents. Sharing the video while omitting this crucial context has the potential to misguide the public and confuse the two attacks.

Evidence and References

January 4, 2025, X post:
https://perma.cc/J6NB-E894

Funker530 video link:
https://perma.cc/NBH9-FEAY

January 4, 2025, Dawn news report:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1883061