FACT CHECK: Image being shared as 1000s of Taliban/ Terrorists captured in Panjshir is 20 Years Old…

Panjshir, the last bastion holding up against Taliban and the region is witnessing an intense war between Taliban and the Northern Alliance forces. While Taliban has made advances into the territory and have claimed control over the entire region, there are claims that thousands of Talibs have been arrested by the Northern Alliance members. However, these claims are unverified.

Amidst this Chaos, a Picture showing Captives is being circulated on Social media claiming 1000s of Taliban or Terrorists being held captive in Panjshir province of Afghanistan.

The tweet claims that 1000s of Terrorists were captured in Panjshir in the last couple of days and a large number of these are from Pakistan.

Original Post- Twitter | Archived link

There are similar tweets sharing the same image with the same narrative. One of such tweet with this image states: ‘ Taliban prisoners in Panjshir Province’.

Original Post- Twitter | Archived link

However, many people had expressed doubts regarding the image and some even pointing out that it is much older. We decided to verify the claims regarding the image. Here is a detailed explanation of our methodology and findings.

Fact Check

From Google Reverse image search, we found that the Image is old and has no relevance with the ongoing conflict in Panjshir.

The image being Shared on Social Media is from the Battle of Qala I Jangi (The war Fortress in Dari), a PoW (prisoners of war) uprising that took place in Mazar I Sharif province of Northern Afghanistan. 

The USA invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 Terrorist attack. The following image is from Sheberghan Prison in Northern Afghanistan where hundreds of surrendered captives were held by Northern Alliance for an Interrogation of Al – Qaeda suspects by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of USA.  The prisoners violently revolted and the fight escalated into one of the bloodiest conflicts of American war on terror.

To read the article: Ostinebula | Archived Link

To read more about the battle you can click on the following link: The Atlantic | Archived Image 

Yesterday in a press conference, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid had declared victory over the resistance forces in Panjshir and claimed that they have taken complete control of the province. He also added that the leaders of the resistance, Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh have fled the country. Visuals of Talibs hoisting their flag in the Governor’s residence in Panjshir and taking control of helicopters supposedly belonging to the Northern Alliance had gone viral on social media yesterday. Here is a tweet by Asvaka news sharing the visuals.

#Panjshir
In this Footage you can see the presence of the #Taliban in the Governor house & different areas of the province. pic.twitter.com/QqRenzixlp

— Aśvaka – آسواکا News Agency (@AsvakaNews) September 6, 2021

Archived Link

However, the Northern Alliance has not accepted defeat and they continue to fight against the Taliban regime. Ali Maisam Nazary, who is the official spokesperson for the National Resistance of Afghanistan has tweeted that after Ahmad Massoud’s call more and more people from various parts of Afghanistan are joining the resistance.

After our leader, @AhmadMassoud01 declared a general uprising, the ppl of Andarab, Daikundi, Kabul, Bamiyan & our diaspora in DC answered his call & joined the resistance. Resistance for freedom & justice has just begun & will continue till the oppressors are defeated. #Freedom

— Ali Maisam Nazary (@alinazary) September 6, 2021

We searched for news reports pertaining to any captives taken during the current conflict. We couldn’t find any credible reports that could validate the claims of mass arrests of Talib fighters by Northern Alliance. 

Conclusion; 

From the fact check it is clear that the photo has no relation with the ongoing battle in Panjshir between Taliban and the resistance forces. The image is more than 20 years old and is related to the battle of Qala-i-Jangi.