Viral image showing an old picture of Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa holding severed heads

Rating Justification

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search and keyword search.

Posts from multiple Indian users on social media platform X since September 27, 2025, shared an image, claiming it was an old picture of Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa holding severed heads from his time as a militant. However, the image is of Australian militant Mohamed Elomar.

The 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Session opened in New York on Sept 9, 2025, with the high-level General Debate running from Sept 23-29. Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa addressed the UNGA on Sept 24 and was the first Syrian head of state to speak at the UN since Noureddine Attasi gave a speech in 1967 shortly after the Arab-Israeli war.

Sharaa seized power in December 2024 after his rebel group led a lightning offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al Assad after nearly 14 years of civil war and more than half a century of brutal family rule.

Sharaa was previously captured and imprisoned by US forces in Iraq from 2006 to 2011 for fighting against the invasion under the command of General David Petraeus. After his release, Sharaa established the Al Nusra Front in 2012 to fight Assad. The group severed ties with Al Qaeda in 2016 and later merged with other factions to form Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) in 2017, led by Sharaa.

HTS was designated a terrorist organisation by the US in 2018 due to its links with Al Qaeda, but the designation was revoked in July 2025 as Washington shifted its stance toward post-Assad Syria. The US had also placed a $10 million bounty on Sharaa, which was lifted in December 2024.

HOW IT STARTED

On Sept 27, an Indian user shared a collage of Sharaa at the UNGA and a person holding two severed heads, claiming it was an old image of the Syrian president.

The caption of the post said: “Yesterday’s terrorist is tomorrow’s leader of UN. ‘Reign of terrorists has begun.’ Thanks to USA. Be it Syria or Pakistan, US backing is clear.”

The post gained over 541,000 views, 6,400 reposts and 18,000 likes.

The same claim was shared by multiple Indian accounts on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here, on Instagram here and here and on Reddit here, here, here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality.

A reverse image search yielded a news report by British publication Daily Mail on July 29, 2014, titled: “Australian jihadist who posed with decapitated heads threatens government with ‘fireworks’ after AFP posts warrants for his arrest”.

The report featured the same image with the following caption: “Mohamed Elomar, who is believed to have left Australia last year to fight in Syria, is shown holding up the decapitated heads of two men.”

A keyword search yielded another news report published on July 28, 2014, by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation titled: “Police issue arrest warrants for Australian Islamic State fighters Mohamed Elomar, Khaled Sharrouf, after gruesome beheading photographs published online”.

It mentioned that Australian authorities had issued arrest warrants for Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar, two Australians fighting with the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The report stated that photos published on X, formerly Twitter, showed Elomar holding severed heads of Syrian government soldiers, while the account posting the images was attributed to Sharrouf.

Another article published on August 14, 2014, by American media outlet CNN was titled “Suspected Australian militant holding severed heads offers $1,000 bounty”.

It featured the same image and reported that Australian militant Mohamed Elomar, seen in the photo clutching severed heads in Syria, offered $1,000 for information on the whereabouts of Dr Jamal Rifi, a prominent Australian Muslim leader and his five children.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral image shows an old picture of Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa holding severed heads is false.

The image is of Australian militant Mohamed Elomar from July 2014.

Evidence and References

July 28, 2014, Australian Broadcasting Corporation news report:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-29/warrants-out-for-australian-islamic-state-fighters/5632562

July 29, 2014, Daily Mail news report:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2710157/Sydney-jihadist-posed-decapitated-heads-threatens-Australia-fireworks-AFP-posts-warrants-arrest.html

August 14, 2014, CNN news report:
https://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/14/world/asia/australia-islamic-suspect-twitter-threat