Image of Iraqi rockets was taken during 2015 launch against Islamic State | Fact check
The claim: Image shows rockets launched from Iraq in April 2024 attack on US military base
An April 21 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes an image of two rockets taking off, creating a cloud of smoke.
“Five Rockets Fired From Iraq Towards U.S. Military Base In Syria,” reads the caption on the post.
It garnered more than 70 shares in less than a week. Another version of the claim spread widely on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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Our rating: False
The image does not show rockets being fired at U.S. targets in 2024. It dates back to 2015 and shows Iraqi rockets headed toward Islamic State targets.
Photo predates Iraq attack by nearly a decade
Five rockets were launched from Iraq toward a U.S. military base in Syria on April 21, as reported by Reuters. No Americans were injured in the attack.
But the photo included in the post predates the April 21 strike by more than nine years. It was taken in March 2015 and shows rockets launched by Iraqi security forces against the Islamic State, according to the Associated Press’ caption on the stock photography website Alamy.
American officials have linked Iranian-backed militants to dozens of attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria and a drone strike in January that killed three Americans and injured dozens of others in Jordan. The U.S. has responded to these attacks by launching dozens of strikes against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Force and militias in Iraq and Syria that were believed to be tied to the Jordan attack, USA TODAY reported.
Fact check: Image presented as proof of 'mass exodus' at Israel airport was taken in 2022
USA TODAY has debunked an array of false claims about conflict in the Middle East, including assertions that none of Iran’s rockets hit Israel in its April 13 attack, that a video shows Iranian drones reaching Israeli airspace and that Israel’s Nevatim Air Base was “completely destroyed” in Iran’s April 13 attack.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters and Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Alamy, March 28, 2015, Photo of Iraqi rocket launch against Islamic State
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim image shows rocket attack on US military base | Fact check
