Viral images of explosions in Kabul

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 to find the original source.

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X since October 9, 2025, were sharing images claiming to show explosions in Kabul. However, the images are old and not from the Kabul explosions.

An explosion was reported in Kabul late on the night of Oct 9, with Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirming the incident and stating that investigations were underway and no damage had been reported. Journalists noted that two explosions were heard around 9:50pm local time, prompting a heavy security presence, vehicle searches, and mobile network disruptions in several areas of the city.

HOW IT STARTED

On Oct 9, an image showing a large nighttime explosion with bright orange flames and thick smoke rising into the sky and another of cars and wreckage on fire on a street were shared on X by an Afghan user.

The post was captioned: “Breaking news: A drone targeted a Land Cruiser vehicle at Abdul Haq Square in Kabul. Do you ever miss Dr Najib’s era when not a single jet dared to enter Afghan airspace?

The post garnered over 80,000 views.

The image of the rising smoke was shared by another account on X with the caption, “The Pakistan Air Force just bombed Kabul and three other cities in Afghanistan. The Taliban are in trouble. Unprecedented,” gaining over 634,000 views.

Russian news outlet RT International also posted the visual of the burning wreckage on its X account.

Multiple Indian accounts on X also circulated the same claim as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, gaining over 43,000 views.

Indian media outlets such as India TV and Republic World also used the same visuals in their news stories.

Other X users also shared the same visuals as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, and here, collectively gaining more than 180,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the explosion in Kabul.

A reverse image search of the viral image of the burning wreckage in the street yielded a news report published by Iranian outlet Tasnim News on June 24, 2014, in Persian. The translated headline read: “Details of last night’s explosion in southern Beirut + images”.

According to the report, a suicide car bombing occurred near a Lebanese army checkpoint in the Tayouneh area of southern Beirut, injuring at least 19 people. The Lebanese Red Cross confirmed there were no fatalities, and most injuries were minor. Witnesses said the explosion took place near a cafe where people were watching World Cup matches, and the bomber detonated the explosives after being questioned by security forces, killing one officer.

The same viral image appeared in that report and was also shared on WordPress on June 24, 2014, in a blog that featured images from the Beirut explosion.

The image was also used in a June 24, 2014, report by the Lebanon News Agency with the following headline: “Terrorism strikes again: A suicide bombing targets an army checkpoint in Tayouneh, Beirut”.

Meanwhile, a reverse image search of the picture showing smoke rising in the sky yielded a report by Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency, dated August 17, 2025, which used the image as a file photo in a story about an explosion in Syria’s Al-Mazza district.

The caption of the photograph said: “This file photo shows an explosion in Damascus.”

Similarly, Iraq’s Shafaq News published the same image on August 7, 2025, in connection with another explosion in Syria.

While the exact origin of the second image could not be conclusively determined, it has been repeatedly shared in connection with various older explosions in Syria and it is clear that it is not from the Oct 9 explosion in Kabul.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that viral images show scenes of an explosion in Kabul is false.

The images are old and not from the Oct 9 Kabul explosion incident.

Evidence and References

June 24, 2014, Tasnim News report:
https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1393/04/03/410980/%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A6%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%A8-%DA%AF%D8%B0%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AD%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A8%DB%8C-%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1

June 24, 2014, WordPress blog:
https://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/lebanon-there-is-an-explosion-in-beirut-at/

June 24, 2014, Lebanon News Agency report:
https://akhbarlubnan.net/archive/index.php?start=253

August 17, 2025, IRNA news story:
https://en.irna.ir/news/85914912/Explosion-reported-in-Syrian-capital-s-Al-Mazza-District

August 7, 2025, Shafaq News report:
https://shafaq.com/en/Middle-East/Suspected-Israeli-strike-targets-Syrian-army-site-in-Latakia-countryside