This image does not show the havoc caused by the recent drone attack in Syria.

The image dates back to 2021 and it shows aftermath of an explosion in the northern countryside of Aleppo province in Syria.

On 5 October 2023, at least 100 people were killed and 277 others injured following a bomb attack used with the help of weaponised drones at a Syrian military academy shortly after a graduation ceremony attended by the country’s defence minister. As per reports, it was one of the bloodiest attacks ever against a Syrian army installation, and unprecedented in its use of weaponised drones in a country that has endured 12 years of civil war.

In this scenario, an image of a man carrying a child in his arms, running away from a fire and Smoke billowing out of a burning car could be seen in the backdrop has gone viral on social media. The users who share the image claimed it shows the havoc caused by the recent drone attack in Syria.

The caption of the post states, “Syria Under Attack..about 100 innocent Civilians de@d and several !njured after the #droneattack in Army Academy. People rushed for help and shelter”

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Fact Check- 

We began our investigation by performing a reverse image search on Google, and we found that this image was used in a 31 January, 2021 report by The Hindustan Times.  The caption states it showed the aftermath of an explosion in the rebel-controlled northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo province. 

According to the report, “A car bomb exploded leaving at least five people dead and more than 25 injured in Northern Aleppo”

According to a tweet by WhiteHelmets (The Syrian Civil Defence, a volunteer rescue group operating in rebel-held parts of Syria) 12 people were killed, & 29 others were wounded, in two successive car bomb explosions that hit two towns in northern Aleppo countryside on 31 January 2021. 

Despite being from Syria, the viral image has been available online since 2021. Therefore, it is evident that the image has nothing to do with the most recent drone attack.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be False. The image dates back to 2021 and it shows aftermath of an explosion in the northern countryside of Aleppo province in Syria.