Image of infants allegedly killed during security operation in KP’s Bajaur

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a Google reverse image search to find the original source.

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X since July 29, 2025, shared an image claiming to show infants killed during the recent security operation in Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, the image is from a 2020 attack in Afghanistan and is unrelated to the current incident.

Security forces imposed a three-day curfew at 16 places in the Bajaur district on July 29 and initiated an operation against militants in the areas.

Local protesters alleged that a number of innocent people were killed and wounded during an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists.

HOW IT STARTED

On July 29, PTI MNA Shandana Gulzar shared an image on X of injured infants bandaged and hooked up to medical drips.

The caption of the post said: “The first results of the genocide of innocent Pashtuns = The blood of Bajaur’s children. Shehbaz Sharif says this operation is being carried out by Khawarij. Seriously? Khawarij conduct operations in army uniforms? May Allah destroy their offspring and families in the same way.”

The post garnered 22,200 views.

The same image was also shared by PTI Islamabad regional president Aamir Mughal on X.

The same image, along with similar claims, was also widely shared by other PTI supporters as can be seen here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the ongoing military operation in Bajaur which has generated local anger and criticism.

A reverse image search led to a news report published by RAWA News, an organisation advocating for women’s rights in Afghanistan, on October 3, 2020, titled: “Deadly car bomb in Nangarhar kills 15 civilians, including 4 kids”.

According to the article, a suicide car bomb attack in the Ghani Khel district of eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province killed at least 15 people and injured over 40. The blast targeted a government building that also housed military facilities. Following the explosion, armed attackers attempted to enter the building but were neutralised by security forces. The report stated that 13 of the deceased were civilians, including women and children, while two were members of the security forces.

The same viral image appeared in the RAWA report with the caption: “Injured children are carried to the hospital following a car bomb attack that targeted a government building.”

Additionally, local Afghan news outlet Pajhwok Afghan News posted the image on Facebook on the same date with the caption: “In Ghani Khel district of Nangarhar, the car bomb attack injured many people, most of them children, who have been taken to hospitals.”

The image was also used in another report on the incident by DID Press, another Afghan media outlet.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that an image shows infants killed during the security operation in Bajaur is false.

The image is from an Afghanistan attack in October 2020 and is unrelated to the current events in Bajaur.

Evidence and References

October 3, 2020, RAWA News report:
https://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/rawanews.php?id=4564

October 3, 2020, Pajhwok Afghan News Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/pajhwoknews/posts/%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%86%DA%AB%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF-%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%AE%DB%90%D9%84%D9%88-%D9%88%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8D-%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%88%D9%BC%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%85-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%BC%D9%BE%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%86%DB%90-%DA%89%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%89-%D9%8A%DB%90-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%BA%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86/3600035370048039/

October 13, 2020, DID Press report:
https://didpress.com/73280/