Fact-check photos and videos claimed to be from Daraa

Amid the military escalation in Daraa between opposition groups against Assad regime forces backed by Russian warplanes and in addition to the intense bombardment on civilian areas, many false videos and photos have been published on social media as from Daraa province.

Verify-Sy discovered several videos and photos were claimed from Daraa lately but many are old or not from Syria and we will debunk it in this report.

First, the video showing captured soldiers by armed men and someone saying these Assad soldiers were captured in al-Herak city by FSA fighters.

After a search conducted by Verify-Sy, it turns out that the audio was added to an old video of captured regime soldiers in Khan al-Asal in Aleppo western countryside in 2013.

Though, FSA re-captured al-Herak city after Assad regime captured 2 days in addition to several areas too.

Among the fake materials shared lately, a video of the commander in Engineering and Rockets Battalion affiliated with Free Syrian Army saying in a statement a message to Russian president Putin that FSA will fight until the end and the fall of Assad regime is a matter of time.

Verify-Sy searched for this video and found it is correct and not edited but many social media news pages shared and said it is new and it’s the response for the Russian attacks on civilians in Daraa and the condition Russia is trying to force for ceasefire, but this video is old from October 2015 when Russia started its military operation in Syria.

Moreover, many other photos from different areas were used as from Daraa which is witnessing a displacement and bombardment, one photo showing civilian including women and children fleeing a nearby shelling while another showing civilians gathering out in the open with smoke rising from behind but both photos were taken in October and November 2016 from Mosul city in Iraq of civilian fleeing US-led coalition bombardment against ISIS.

Worth to mention that all rebels-held areas in Daraa province have been witnessing daily intense bombardment by Assad regime and Russian warplanes while Assad forces trying to advance against FSA fighters.