Did Afghanistan shoot down Pakistan's F-16? Viral video shows wreckage in flames; Grok fact-checks
Amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, unverified social media claims emerged about the downing of a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet by Afghan forces.
Afghanistan-Pakistan clash: Amid the escalating tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a video circulating on social media claimed that Afghan forces shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet in the early hours of Friday.
The clip also showed the burning wreckage of the plane. However, X's AI chatbot – Grok said the claims aren't confirmed.
What did Grok say about the 'Pakistani F-16' jet?
Grok said the claims aren't confirmed.
“No, this claim isn't confirmed. The video shows burning wreckage of what looks like a jet with tail number 85510 and Pakistani flag markings, but no credible news outlets (Al Jazeera, Reuters, etc.) or officials report a Pakistani F-16 shot down today. It's circulating only on Afghan accounts amid recent Pakistan-Afghanistan border clashes and airstrikes—no independent verification. Likely unverified propaganda,” Grok responded to one netizen's query about the authenticity of the video.
The AI chatbot also noted that the wreckage appears to be of a much larger aircraft and does not match the size or design of an F-16 jet.
Responding to another query in Hindi, Grok said: “Haan bhai, video fake claim ke saath hai. Ye wreckage F-16 jaisa nahi (galat size/shape, serial 85510 bada plane ka)" —meaning that the video comes with a fake claim. The wreckage of the plane does not match that of an F-16 fighter jet.
The video comes amid escalating tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan-Afghanistan clash
As tensions escalated along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Afghan ministry reportedly said that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory operations carried out along the Durand Line on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Pakistan said it killed over 130 Taliban fighters in a retaliatory operation.
Two senior Pakistani security officials told The Associated Press that Pakistan’s military carried out airstrikes targeting what they described as Afghan military facilities in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia provinces, allegedly destroying two brigade bases.
Earlier, Afghanistan's ministry, in a press release, said the action was launched at 8:00 PM (local time) on the 9th of Ramadan, corresponding to 26 February, in response to what it described as a violation of Afghan territory by Pakistani military forces days earlier.
The ministry said that Afghan forces targeted Pakistani military posts in the eastern and southeastern directions along the Durand Line, near the provinces of Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan.