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Truth behind chilling video of man 'hanging' from US Black Hawk stolen by Taliban

The man in the video was a Taliban fighter who was trying to install Taliban flag from the air but it didn’t work in the end - it wasn't a hanging

Update: No, the Taliban did not hang a person from an American helicopter as many on social media are claiming. On Monday, Aug 30, a tweet by Twitter user @Holbornlolz, who is notorious for spreading disinformation, caught the attention of many on the site as it alleged that the Taliban had tied a noose around someone's neck before throwing them from a helicopter. It started going around on social media and many people made their own assumptions. 

Quickly gaining 2.3 million views, the video was shared by many right-wing figures, including Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas.), commentator Ian Miles Cheong, and Rep Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas.), many who said the man was an interpreter for the US. “This horrifying image encapsulates Joe Biden’s Afghanistan catastrophe: The Taliban hanging a man from an American Blackhawk helicopter,” Cruz said in a now-deleted tweet. 

An Afghan journalist claiming to know the pilot, tweeted, "Afghan pilot flying this is someone I have known over the years,” Bilal Sarwary wrote. “He was trained in the US and UAE, he confirmed to me that he flew the Blackhawk helicopter. Taliban fighter seen here was trying to install Taliban flag from air but it didn’t work in the end.”

“A viral video claiming to show a man being brutally hanged from a helicopter in Kandahar was likely an attempt to fix a flag over a public building, not a hanging,” journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh wrote. “A separate video of the incident shows the man is clearly alive and waving in the air.”

But then it was too late as many people had already shared the video claiming that it was a hanging.

Original story

A video of an Afghan man dangling from an American Hawk helicopter has gone viral on social media. Apparently, during a "patrol" of Kandahar city, this helicopter was seen flying around with what appears to a man hanging by his neck with his hands tied. This video has been reportedly viewed more than two million times.

On Sunday, August 29, 2021, the footage was shared by the Talib Times, which claims to be the "official news source" for the current "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," via its Twitter account. The pro-Taliban video showed the man hanging from what looks like a UH-60 Black Hawk chopper produced by the US. "Our Air Force! At this time, the Islamic Emirate's air force helicopters are flying over Kandahar city and patrolling the city," the video's caption read. The clip was shared just a day before the final U.S. troops were expected to leave Afghanistan.

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The video created a lot of furor as people watched it in shock. Many even replied commenting on the grave nature of the incident. "Are you hanging people off of helicopters and expect us to be ok with it???" one user wrote. Frantic people wondered if this kind of graphic content is ok to be shared on Twitter. "Hey @TwitterSupport @TwitterSafety You all good with videos of them bragging about hanging people in mid air with their hands tied behind their backs? @Jack" one user asked. While the video has not been verified as per news reports, it has been shared by many people on social media.

On Thursday, August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber had detonated an explosive near the gates of Kabul's airport killing American service members and Afghans trying to flee the country from the Taliban. ISIS-K, an Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. When the United States responded with a series of drone attacks on ISIS-K targets, 10 people including six children were killed. 

Has the Taliban seized American weapons?

When the Taliban took back power, they seized hundreds of weapons and artillery pieces supplied to the Afghan army by America, including Black Hawks and Humvees, all-terrain military vehicles. Over the years of the conflict, the US government provided the Afghan National Army with thousands of weapons and pieces of military equipment. According to a U.S. government accountability report, between 2003 and 2016, America gave a huge amount of military hardware on the Afghan forces it fought alongside. This includes  358,530 rifles of different makes, more than 64,000 machine guns, 25,327 grenade launchers and 22,174 Humvees.

A report by US-based Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar) said that at the end of June, the Afghan Air Force previously operated 167 aircraft, including attack helicopters and planes. The report added that at least 3,012 Humvees were provided to the Afghan National Army between December 2017 and June 2021. On Monday, August 30, 2021, the two-decade U.S.-led war officially came to an end, as the final military plane departed the international airport in Taliban-ruled Kabul, amid a chaotic airlift to transport out of the country Americans and allied Afghans that collaborated with them during the war.

Taliban 'patrol' using Black Hawk? 

Many people have shared the video. "New video of a Taliban operated Black Hawk heli, circulating on pro-TB accounts. #Afghanistan" one wrote, adding, "I swear I don't know what's going on here." Another added, "Video shows Taliban fly one of the captured UH-60A Black Hawk Helicopters with what looks like someone hanging from a rope underneath. #Kandahar | #Afghanistan". One shocked user said, "This is disgusting! This the worst of humanity! Evil!" Another cried, "This brought me to tears! God help us all!!!!" One tweet summed it up succinctly, saying, "Primitives."

Some disagreed that it is a hanging at all. "I have military friends saying this is NOT a hanging and that his head would snap off from the lift". To which, another user explained, "That’s possible when merely hanging by the neck. Your military friend is not familiar with show hangings. This guy was likely dead before the tied the noose. They tie the rope around the torso as well just below the arm pits. Whether on a helicopter or a wall, it can hang [for] days."