Following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian and one Nepali citizen, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of 07 May 2025. The Indian government stated that the operation targeted terrorist infrastructure at nine locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, emphasising that no Pakistani military installations were struck. It described the strikes as focused, measured, and non-escalatory. Citing military sources, media reports indicated that at least 80 terrorists were killed during the operation. However, Pakistan stated that at least 26 civilians were killed and 46 others injured in the missile strikes. In response, cross-border shelling by Pakistani forces reportedly led to the deaths of at least 9 civilians and injuries to 38 others in Jammu and Kashmir. As per media reports, among those killed in the Indian strikes were ten family members of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, including his elder sister, her husband, a nephew, a niece, and several children. Azhar reportedly acknowledged these deaths in a message shared with his followers, referring to it as a personal loss.
Amidst this, a video is going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claiming to show the demolished building belonging to Masood Azhar that was targeted during Operation Sindoor. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The video shows a demolished building belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, which was targeted during Operation Sindoor.
Fact: The viral video predates Operation Sindoor and does not show visuals of an operation targeting Masood Azhar’s property. It depicts the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar on 28 March 2025. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to an X post dated 29 March 2025, which confirms that the video predates Operation Sindoor, which took place on 07 May 2025. The post stated that a powerful earthquake had struck Myanmar, resulting in 1,644 deaths and over 3,400 injuries.
Taking a cue from the X post, we conducted a Google keyword search, which led us to multiple media reports (here, here, and here) covering the incident and featuring screenshots from the same video. According to these reports, on 28 March 2025, a massive earthquake struck Myanmar, causing significant damage in various regions, including the destruction of a mosque in Mandalay, where 20 people lost their lives. In Toungoo, Myanmar, 5 more people died as a result of the earthquake, while local reports indicate that 25 people have died so far in Myanmar. The earthquake also impacted Thailand, injuring dozens in Bangkok and leaving 43 people missing.
To sum up, a March 2025 earthquake video from Myanmar is falsely shared as footage of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar’s demolished building, allegedly targeted during Operation Sindoor.
