An image circulating on social media (here, here, and here) claims that a bus carrying Indian Army soldiers was attacked in Reasi, Jammu & Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of ten soldiers. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A bus carrying Indian Army soldiers was attacked in Reasi, Jammu & Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of ten soldiers in June 2024.
Fact: This incident took place in Afghanistan in 2014 where a suicide bomber killed at least eight military officers in an attack on an Air Force bus in Kabul. On 9 June 2024, terrorists attacked a bus carrying Pilgrims from Reasi. Nine civilians died, and many were injured in the incident. However, the viral image is unrelated to this event, and no attack was reported on a bus carrying soldiers as claimed in the post. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the image shared in the viral claim led us to a video by Euro News sharing the same visuals on 14 July 2014, with the title ‘Afghanistan: suicide bomber kills eight in military bus blast.’
Further, we found reports from various news channels indicating that a suicide bomber killed at least eight military officers in an attack on an Air Force bus in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital. Another 13 people, including civilians, were wounded in the attack near Kabul University in the western part of the city (here, here, and here). A comparison between the viral image and screenshot from the news video can be seen below.
Subsequent research into the terrorist attack in Reasi led us to reports of a recent attack on a passenger bus in the area. These reports indicated that a group of terrorists attacked a Yatris bus coming from the Ransoo area of District Reasi. As a result, the driver lost control, and the bus fell into a deep gorge near the Kanda area of Pouni Reasi. The accident resulted in nine fatalities and several injuries (here, here, and here). This incident was confirmed by the Reasi police. However, we did not find any evidence linking the viral image to this incident. Also, we did not come across any reports of an attack on a bus carrying the Indian Army. Below is a comparison between the viral image and the image reported by the media.
To sum up, an old and unrelated image is being shared falsely linking it to the recent terrorist attack in Reasi.
