A viral video of troops carrying out an operation on a mosque complex is being shared to falsely claim that the Israeli forces have taken over the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
We found that the video dates back to 2004 when US and Iraqi troops had jointly carried out an operation at the Golden Mosque or Al-Aksari mosque in Iraq’s Samarra.
This comes after Israeli security forces stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque on 10 May, for the third straight day, escalating the tensions. Hamas had given an ultimatum, demanding Israel to stand down and withdraw its forces from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
CLAIM
The claim along with the video mentioned that the video showed Israeli forces taking over Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
The video shared by Facebook account ‘Pushpendra Kulshrestha Hindu Yodha’ had garnered over 2,800 shares at the time of publishing the article.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On carefully looking at the viral visuals uploaded by some users on Facebook, we noticed that it carried a text saying, “Task Force Viper & the 36th Commando Bn. (sic)”
The 36th Commando Battalion is one of the Iraqi special forces units that was developed after Saddam Hussein’s fall.
We then searched on YouTube using keywords ‘Iraq 36th Commando Bn mosque attack’ and came across a video uploaded by the verified handle of ‘FUNKER530 - Veteran Community & Combat Footage’ on 29 August 2020.
The YouTube video carried similar visuals as the viral video and can be viewed from 01:42 minutes.
VIRAL VIDEO DATES BACK TO 2004, INCIDENT TOOK PLACE IN IRAQ
The description, along with the video, mentioned that the incident took place in the Golden Mosque or Al-Aksari Mosque in Iraq’s Samarra in October 2004 and the operation was carried out by the 36th Iraqi Commando Battalion and US special forces troops.
We also came across a video uploaded by AP Archive on YouTube in 2015 that mentioned that the footage dated back to October 2004.
The description mentioned that the US and Iraqi forces had launched an operation in Samarra. “The coalition forces launched the major assault to retake control of the milita stronghold in the city...Smoke rose from the area around the Imam Ali al-Hadi and Imam Hassan al-Askari shrine, raising concerns about one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims,” the description added.
Here’s a comparison of the mosque seen in the viral video and the images of Iraq’s Golden mosque and Al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem available on Getty images.
Evidently, an old and unrelated video of a joint operation carried out by US and Iraqi forces at the Golden mosque in Samarra was used to falsely claim that Israel has taken over Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
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