The Video Doesn’t Show Indian Navy Recently Capturing 35 Somali Pirates

The video dated back to 20 March and shows a joint exercise between Indian armed forces and the SDF.

Fact-Check | The video is old and shows a joint exercise.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing military personnel pointing their guns towards a few men seen lying on the floor of a ship is going viral on the internet to claim that it shows Indian navy recently capturing 35 Somali pirates.

What did the viral post say?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user named 'War Flash' shared the clip with a caption that said, "Indian Navy MARCOS (Marine Commandos) captured 35 Somali pirates during anti pirates operation."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

The above video had garnered over eight lakh views on the platform. More archives of similar claims could be found here, here, and here.

What's the truth?: The video could be traced back to 20 March and shows a joint military exercise conducted by the Indian armed forces and the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) in Seychelles.

How did we find that out?: On conducting a Google Lens search on the keyframes of the viral video, we found the same visuals uploaded on an Instagram handle named 'observervoice'.

• The video was shared on 20 March.

• Its caption said, "Strengthening partnerships across the seas. The 11th edition of Joint Military Exercise LAMITIYE 2026, held in #Seychelles from 09–20 March 2026, brought together the Indian Armed Forces and the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) in a shared commitment to security and cooperation..."

News reports: A report published by Asianet News said that the 11th edition of Joint Military Exercise named 'LAMITIYE 2026' was conducted in Seychelles from 9 to 20 March by the Indian armed forces and the SDF.

• The exercise aimed to enhance operational synergy and mutual understanding in semi-urban and maritime security scenarios.

• India Today, on its official YouTube channel, too, posted a video report on the military exercises.

• It was shared on 19 March and its title said, "India, Seychelles Conduct ‘LAMITIYE 2026’ Joint Military Exercise | Maritime Security."

Conclusion: It is evident that the video is old and shows a joint military exercise between Indian armed forces and the SDF.

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