An image showing a child jumping over a line of human corpses has circulated online, claiming to depict American atrocities during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. However, reports clarify that this image actually features an Iraqi child jumping over remains in a school where bodies from a mass grave, discovered near Al Musayyib, about 50 km south of Baghdad, were brought on May 27, 2003. These remains belong to hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims executed by Saddam Hussein’s regime following their uprising after the 1991 Gulf War, and the image is unrelated to the 2003 invasion.
Sharing the image on X (Formerly Twitter) serial fake news peddler and propagandist account @ShaykhSulaiman wrote, “American Terror in Iraq in 2003. A boy jumping over corpses”. Later, he deleted the post.
The truth about the photo, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the sensitive photo and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis of the photo and found that the image was not related to the US invasion of Iraq.
To verify the claims made by the users. We performed a reverse image search on Google Lens. This led us to a stock photography agency ‘Getty Image’. According to the details available, the image depicts, an Iraqi child jumping over a line of remains in a school where bodies have been brought from a mass grave discovered in the desert on the outskirts of Al Musayyib, 50 km south of Baghdad, May 27, 2003, in Iraq. People have been searching for days for identity cards or other clues among the skeletons to try to find the remains of family members, including children, from the grave that locals say contain the remains of hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims executed by Saddam Hussein’s regime after their uprising following the 1991 Gulf War.
Therefore, it is evident from verified sources that the image was unrelated to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Intent
Propagandists are circulating unrelated old images with misleading claims to set their narrative against the US Army.
Conclusion
Claim– The image depicts the US army’s atrocities against the Iraqi people during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Fact– The image depicts the remains of hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims executed by Saddam Hussein’s regime after their uprising following the 1991 Gulf War.
Related Article: Fact Check: ISIS executed a 15-year-old boy for listening to music during prayer time in Iraq? – D-Intent Data
