Claim:
A viral tweet from 6 September 2021
Fact: The video is actually of an American test flight at Mach Loop, Wales.
Taliban attacks against the Afghan government intensified after US president Joe Biden announced his intention to withdraw from the country by 11 September 2021. Conflict between local players culminated in the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021.
Fighting between the Taliban and resistance forces led by Ahmad Massoud continues in the Panjshir valley in North Central Afghanistan. Sections of the media in Afghanistan have alleged the Taliban are receiving air support from the Pakistan air force.
On 6 September 2021 this video was shared oline by Twitter and Facebook users, as well as some news websites. The video depicts a fighter jet flying around a valley without any clear identifying details. Although the posts captioned the video differently, all of them claimed that it was footage of a Pakistani jet from Panjshir valley.
The same video was posted on Facebook too
Indian press including Times Now (archived link- post deleted) aired the video in TV news broadcasts. After commenters on social media recognized the location, Soch Fact Check confirmed the video is actually from a Welsh flying course known as Mach Loop, where aircrafts perform low altitude test flights.
Add image: times now tweet
Twitter user @hengenahm compared the flight in the video to existing footage of Mach Loop. By matching the turns and clearances in the valley at three different points, @hegenahm confirmed that the video is from Wales and not from Panjshir.
Example 8, Video of alleged Pakistan fighter jet inside Panjshir valley is actually from Mach Loop, Wales. Location: 52°43'55"N 3°44'20"W https://t.co/sQPDMRlpXq https://t.co/dqibFMKHi3 pic.twitter.com/3aXTVhbdq0
— Benjamin (@hengenahm) September 6, 2021
Furthermore, Soch Fact Check looked at the first few videos appearing in the search results for “Mach Loop” on youtube. The videos bear close similarities to the valley in the claim. Indian fact checkers BOOM searched Youtube and found two instances where the video in the claim matches videos of Mach Loop available online.
Summary: Visual comparisons with other images and videos of Mach Loop confirm that the video in the claim was recorded in Wales, United Kingdom. Claims about the video being unconfirmed footage from Panjshir valley Afghanistan are false.