A recent social media post circulating in Ethiopia claims to show an Eritrean tank that was struck by a drone in Rama, a town in the Tigray region. The post, which includes an image of a destroyed tank, was shared with a caption stating that the Ethiopian Air Force had launched a drone attack on Eritrean forces in Rama. However, a thorough investigation by PesaCheck has revealed that the image is not from Ethiopia, but rather from Iraq in 2003.
According to PesaCheck, the image was published on Shutterstock in 2003 and is attributed to Paul L Anstine/Shutterstock. The image was captioned as "Burning Iraqi T-55 destroyed by U.S. Marines Operation Iraqi Freedom An Nu'maniyah, Iraq, along Highway 27 02-APR-2003." This suggests that the image has been misused to support a false claim about a drone attack in Tigray.
Despite the image being from a different location and time, there have been reports of drone strikes in Tigray. In October 2026, conflict-monitoring reports described changes in territorial control, with the Ethiopian army and Tigray forces present in areas previously occupied by Eritrean troops. Additionally, it was reported that Ethiopia had purchased Turkish drones, including the Bayraktar Akinci and Bayraktar TB2 models.
The Eritrean army has been accused of occupying border areas in Tigray, including Rama, Zalambessa, Shiraro, and Badme, despite a peace agreement signed in 2020. However, the available reporting does not indicate the type of drones used in the armed conflict in Tigray or the types of vehicles destroyed. PesaCheck's investigation highlights the need for accurate information in conflict zones.
PesaCheck is East Africa's first public finance fact-checking initiative, co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein. The organization seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about numbers that shape our world. PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
The fact-check was written by a PesaCheck fact-checker based in Ethiopia and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa. The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah. This fact-check is part of an ongoing series examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
The investigation into the image of the destroyed tank highlights the importance of verifying information, especially in conflict zones. PesaCheck's work is crucial in helping the public to make informed decisions and to prevent the spread of misinformation.
Key points
- The image of the destroyed tank in the social media post is from Iraq in 2003, not from Rama, Tigray.
