Claim: A video shows airstrikes carried out by Pakistan in Kabul that targeted Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Fact: The video is not linked to the October 2025 conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan as it appeared online as early as 2023.
On 10 October, an X user posted a clip (archive) purportedly showing aerial bombing by Pakistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. The post states: “Operation Tandoor.
Pakistan carried out an air strike in Kabul targeting Noor Wali Mehsud (TTP leader). In response, Afghanistan threatened to cut off the supply of naan.”
This article only aims to fact-check the video shared in the post; it does not attempt to verify claims of Pakistan’s alleged airstrike in Kabul in October 2025.
Clashes erupt between Afghanistan and Pakistan
Afghan and Pakistani military forces exchanged heavy fire along the border on 11 October, marking a significant escalation between the neighbours.
The clashes reportedly erupted when Afghan troops attacked several Pakistani military posts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in retaliation for the alleged airstrikes by Pakistan inside its territory on 9 October. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of violating its sovereign territory by carrying out airstrikes in Kabul, a charge that the latter has neither denied nor confirmed.
Soon after, social media users speculated that the airstrike was meant to target Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It has not been independently verified if he was killed in the attack.
Pakistani forces retaliated against these attacks on 11 October.
Both sides made conflicting claims about the inflicted losses and casualties. Afghan authorities claimed that they had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers whereas Pakistan stated that 23 soldiers had been killed. Pakistan claimed that it had killed more than 200 “Taliban and affiliated terrorists.” But Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban-led government, said that nine Afghan soldiers were killed in the overnight clashes with Pakistan. Soch Fact Check has not independently verified the casualties on both sides.
Pakistani authorities have long accused the Afghan Taliban government of harbouring the TTP that carries out attacks on Pakistani territory with impunity, a charge denied by Kabul.
Moreover, both countries also claimed to have destroyed each other’s border posts, Reuters reported.
On 15 October, Pakistan and Afghanistan reportedly continued to clash until agreeing to a temporary 48-hour ceasefire on the same day.
According to an AFP report, Afghan officials accused Pakistan of breaking the ceasefire by carrying out strikes inside Afghanistan on 17 October, which killed ten people and injured 12 others.
Then on 19 October, both neighbours agreed to an immediate ceasefire after peace talks in Doha, Qatar while further negotiations were scheduled to be held on 25 October in Istanbul, Turkey.
Although the border crossing between the two countries remains closed, it was only temporarily reopened for the repatriation of Afghan refugee families.
Geo News reported on 20 October that border crossings were likely to reopen. “The sources privy to the matter said that officials from both countries have agreed to reopen the border if no other dispute arises,” the report said.
Peace talks held in Istanbul between the two countries ended on 28 October without a resolution, Reuters reported.
Fact or Fiction?
Reverse-searching keyframes from the video showed it is not connected to the recent conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan as it appeared online as early as October 2023.
An Instagram user posted this same video (archive) on 23 October 2023, with the description:
“The residents of Gaza are calling this the worst night yet. It’s like the sky is raining fire. #Palestine #Palestinians #DocumentingPalestine #Gaza #Resistance #ArmedResistance #Liberation #War #WarCrimes #EthnicCleansing #Genocide #Bombing #AirStrike #Zionist #فلسطين #غزة“.
On the left is the post sharing the claim. On the right is an Instagram post from October 2023.
An X user also shared the same video (archive) on 23 October 2023 with a description stating [translated via Google Translate]: “Very violent raids on the northern Gaza Strip!! #Gaza_Genocide #Gaza”.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the video predates the recent conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Virality
The X post garnered 133,000 views and was liked 1,700 times.
It appeared on X here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The video appeared on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The video is not related to the October 2025 conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan; it was shared online as early as 2023.
Background image in cover photo: Anadolu Agency
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