After the Pahalgam terror attack triggered India’s Operation Sindoor and the subsequent cease-fire with Pakistan, large-scale search operations (here and here) began in Jammu & Kashmir. Amid this, a sky-shot video (here, here and here) went viral on social media, showing two people running through a forest. The clip is shared with the claim that they are Pakistani terrorists fleeing security forces in Kashmir. Let’s find out the truth behind this footage.
Claim: The video shows Pakistani terrorists fleeing through a forest in Kashmir.
Fact: The video is actually from Syria and has been available online since March 2025, predating the recent India-Pakistan unrest. It has no connection to Kashmir or Pakistani terrorists, hence the claim FALSE.
To verify the video’s origin, we performed a reverse image search on Google. This led us to a Turkish media outlet, TRHaber, which had posted the same video on 09 March 2025. The caption, originally in Turkish, translates to: “Syrian Security Forces have reached the bodies of the security personnel killed in an attack by elements of the ousted regime in Qardaha, Latakia.” We also found several other Facebook posts (here and here) from around the same date, stating that the video is from Syria, confirming that the video predates the recent India-Pakistan unrest following the 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack.
Further investigation using relevant keywords and date filters led us to multiple reports (here and here) about the incident. One such report, published by Turkish media outlet TRHaber on 09 March 2025, confirmed that the viral video is from Syria, not related to the India-Pakistan conflict. The visuals are part of clashes between Syrian government forces and elements of the ousted Assad regime in Latakia. These armed elements had attacked hospitals and military installations, prompting a major counter-operation. Over 200 Syrian security personnel were reportedly killed, and a mass grave was discovered in Qardaha.
To sum up, a video showing two people running in a forest in Syria is falsely shared as Pakistani terrorists fleeing from Kashmir.
