MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): BBC Verify has said that it has authenticated three videos, which purportedly show the wreckage of a French-manufactured Rafale fighter jet, which the Indian Air Force uses.
In a report, the British publication said, “Officials in Islamabad have claimed that Pakistani forces shot down five Indian fighter jets on Wednesday morning.”
“India has so far declined to comment.”
Giving details, it said that, in one clip, India’s troops can be seen collecting debris from the crashed jet in a field, geolocated by BBC Verify, near the city of Bathinda in India’s Punjab state.
It added that it had also located two further clips from the same location filmed at night, with one showing debris in the field, while another showed a projectile catching fire in the sky and then fire in an open field.
“Justin Crump, a former British Army officer who runs the risk intelligence company Sibylline, told BBC Verify the wreckage appears to be a French air-to-air missile of a type used on both Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter jets.”
The report further added that another image circulating on social media also showed a tail fin with ‘BS001’ and ‘Rafale’ inscribed on it. “Google reverse image searches did not show any old versions of the image,” BBC Verify said.
Earlier, Reuters, citing two U.S. officials, reported that a top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian fighter jets on Wednesday, marking a major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.
“One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets, bringing down at least two,” the report added.
Another official said that at least one Indian jet that was shot down was a French-made Rafale fighter aircraft.
Both officials said Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft, made by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab, were not used in the shootdown.
