Fact-Check: Viral message falsely accuses 'Islamic Afghans' of killing 229 Christian Missionaries
In a false claim that has garnered significant attention across social media platforms including WhatsApp, it is being alleged that the ‘Islamic Afghans’ have executed 229 Christian Missionaries and have taken over Qargosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq.
The text claims that the incident occurred in Qargosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq. However, a thorough fact-check conducted by Vartha Bharati has revealed that this claim is entirely false.
The identical text message, with varying numbers of missionaries, has been circulating online since 2009. Initially, the message suggested that the Islamic Afghans had sentenced 229 Christian missionaries to death, a claim that resurfaced multiple times over the years. After the recent Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the same message gained traction once again, this time with a new twist - asserting that the 229 missionaries had already been executed.
Earlier, the message was being largely shared stating that the Islamic Afghans have sentenced 229 Christian Missionaries to death “tomorrow”. The message is doing rounds since 2009. The same message was once again widely shared after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
The message, urging urgent prayers for the alleged victims, also falsely stated that the information was confirmed through news sources. It further requested recipients to forward the message for wider prayer participation. The message mentions an individual named Judith Carmona, described as a Chihuahua missionary in Africa, as the source of this information.
The message calls for urgent prayers and states “Today, unfortunately, they have confirmed this terrible news at this time. You can confirm this in the news. How sad!! Please pray for the 229th Christian missionaries, who were executed yesterday afternoon by Islamic Afghans. Please spread this message as soon as possible so that as many people can pray. This message was sent by JUDITH CARMONA, a Chihuahua missionary in Africa. The whole earth was united in prayer. If you can forward it, please let us join in the urgent prayer, also because the radical Islamic group has taken over Qargosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq. Where there are hundreds. Christian men, women and children being beheaded. Prayer cover is requested. Please take a minute and pray for them. Convey the message to whoever you can. They have taken Qaraghosh many times before. They have asked us to pray, please pass it on to others,” it adds.
Despite the emotional urgency of the message and the disturbing video accompanying it, our fact-check has conclusively proven that the claim is baseless. No official records or credible sources have verified any mass execution of missionaries by 'Islamic Afghans' or any other group. The origin of the video remains unclear, adding to the misinformation surrounding the incident.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
