Viral but Misleading: Kabul Blast Video Is Old and Unrelated

A video widely shared on social media claiming to show the January 19 explosion near a Chinese restaurant in Kabul is misleading. OBC’s verification shows that the clip is from an unrelated incident in Afghanistan and dates back to at least 2020.

On January 19, 2026, Kabul  witnessed  a deadly explosion that targeted a Chinese-run restaurant. The blast took the lives of seven individuals and left several injured. In the later hours of January 19, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a transnational jihadist militant organization also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), claimed responsibility for the blast, reportedly  in a statement on its Aamaq news agency. While several visuals showing the aftermath of the incident were circulated online, numerous social media accounts shared a video that shows how the blast occurred. Nevertheless, our analysis revealed that the video is unrelated to the current incident in Kabul and dates back to at least 2020.

Social media posts carrying the video

On January 20, a Facebook account shared the video with a Malayalam caption, which translates to, “A scene from the explosion near a Chinese restaurant in the Shahr-e-Now area of ​​Kabul on January 19. The attack targeted a vehicle carrying Chinese officials, killing 9 Chinese nationals.”

As of January 22, the post received 107 likes, 4 comments, and 7 shares.

No netizen pointed out that the video is unrelated.

An X account Megh Updates shared the same video on January 20 with a caption,”BIG! A massive IED blast hit near a Chinese restaurant in the Shahr-e-Naw area of Kabul on Jan 19. The attack allegedly targeted a vehicle carrying Chinese officials and may involve rival factions within the Taliban.”

As of January 22, the post garnered 1,87,000 views, 4,500 likes, and 597 reposts.

Adding a communal tilt, a user commented, “Their own country is not safe from their terror,” while another user pointed out that the video is old.

The mouthpiece for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Organiser Weekly, also shared the video on January 20. We also noticed that the X account Afghan Times shared the video on January 19, linking it to the recent blast.

What did we find?

We noticed that responding to the Afghan Times , a user stated, “This is an old video of IEA in which IEA carried out a powerful IED blast by ANA police officers, rangers in the Gardez district of Paktia province, and then Alhijra studio later released this scene in the full documentary film named Ibrat 2.”

A reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video revealed that Facebook users shared the same video in September 2020, thus clarifying that the video is old.

On September 10, 2020, a Facebook user shared the video with a Persian caption, “#Taliban terrorist attacks! Recorded and published by them.”

A Facebook magazine, Wazirabad News, also shared the video on September 16, 2020.

We verified that the vehicle seen in the video is a Ford Ranger Tactical Pickup, often used by the Afghanistan National Police (ANP). Therefore, establishing the video circulated recently shows an old explosion that occurred in Afghanistan.

Additionally, based on the aftermath of the January 19 explosion in Kabul, we geolocated the incident to China Lanzhou Beef Noodles, a Chinese restaurant located on Flower Street, Kabul city, and noticed that the viral video shows a completely different location.

The analysis thus clarified that an old, unrelated visual from Afghanistan was recently shared online in connection with the explosion targeting a Chinese restaurant in Kabul City.