A video showing rows of coffins has been viewed thousands of times in X-posts that falsely claimed to show last rites for “130 soldiers” killed in separatist attacks in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province. The footage actually shows the coffins of police officers killed by a criminal gang just days before attacks in Balochistan that left dozens dead.
The images, which show mourners standing in lines near coffins, were shared in a X-message on August 27, which was viewed 117,000 times.
“130 Pakistani soldiers lost their lives in #OperationHerof,” the clip reads.
On August 26, separatist militants pulled passengers from buses, blew up a bridge and stormed a hotel. coordinated attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, dubbed “Operation Herof” (archived link).
The dead include 34 civilians and 15 members of the security forces, while the military says its troops killed 21 militants.
Security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence in impoverished Balochistan for decades, but the attacks that have struck several districts in the province are among the worst in the region’s history.
“The Majeed Brigade of Balochs is a unique brigade,” says a man commenting on the video, referring to a separatist militant group that has claimed attacks in the region.
“They carry out different types of attacks and when they carry out attacks they tell their families that they are not coming back. This is the level of these people.”