(Corrigendum: An earlier version of this report incorrectly suggested that a body was hanging from the chopper seen in the video in question. The story has been updated to reflect that it was, in fact, a man who was suspended from the helicopter. Error is regretted.)
As the US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, now being ruled by the Taliban, a video of a man dangling from a US military chopper came to the fore on Monday, 30 August.
While several reports, including this, suggested that the man had been 'executed', an investigation by The Quint's Webqoof team has found out that the man was in fact suspended from the chopper using a harness.
In addition, Afghanistan-based journalists said that the man seen in the video was a Talib, who was attempting to hoist a Taliban flag on a government building, but did not succeed.
What Earlier Reports Suggested
Multiple reports and Twitter users had said that the video shows the Taliban executing a man in Afghanistan.
According to initial reports, the chopper was believed to be flying over Kandahar. The video was shared on Tuesday, 31 August, by journalists and ‘Talib Times’, which the Taliban claims is their official handle.
The Twitter handle wrote, “Our Air Force! At this time, the Islamic Emirate's air force helicopters are flying over Kandahar city and patrolling the city.”
The post was also shared by US senator Ted Cruz, saying: “This horrifying image encapsulates Joe Biden's Afghanistan catastrophe: The Taliban hanging a man from an American Blackhawk helicopter. Tragic. Unimaginable."
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