The viral footage was recorded in Zakho, Iraq, and shows students of the Second Military College taking part in morning military training exercises. Updated Wednesday, Nov 4, 2026.
A video showing uniformed personnel marching is being widely shared online with claims that it shows Pakistani soldiers deployed in Saudi Arabia to defend the country against Houthi attacks. The footage was recorded in Iraq, not Saudi Arabia.
On October 20, a user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a 12-second video claiming that Pakistani army personnel had been deployed at Jeddah Airport in Saudi Arabia. The post reads: "Breaking, the Pakistan Army has caused a stir at Jeddah Airport, soldiers are deployed everywhere at every nook and corner leaving the Israeli and Yemeni militaries highly concerned, this is clearly evident from the footage."
At the time of writing, the post had garnered approximately 96,985 views, 191 likes, and 33 reposts. The same footage was also shared by other accounts on Facebook and X.
In reality, the footage shows students of the Second Military College in the Iraqi city of Zakho taking part in a military training exercise. A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral footage led to a video published by the Iraqi digital media platform One News on October 17.
The one-minute-and-15-second video contains the same scenes as those circulating on social media. In an Arabic-language report accompanying the video, One News described the footage as showing military college students in Zakho conducting their morning training exercises to the rhythm of Kurdish chants and slogans.
Verdict: The viral footage was recorded in Zakho, Iraq, and shows students of the Second Military College taking part in morning military training exercises. It does not show Pakistani soldiers deployed at Jeddah Airport in Saudi Arabia, as claimed in the social media posts.
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