Photo doesn’t show U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar at an Al Qaeda training camp

What's the claim?

Posts on social media have shared a photo of a woman in a headscarf holding a gun with the claim that it shows a Congresswoman at an Al Qaeda training camp in Somalia. The photo carries the text, "Here is your precious Muslim Congresswoman at a Al' Qaeda training camp in Somalia. She is trying to get this picture blocked." While several similar posts have been shared on X (formerly Twitter) recently do not mention a name for the Congresswoman, we noted that one such post dating back to June 2023 was shared as a reply to an X post by U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar. Archive links of a post can be accessed here and here.

Posts claiming photo shows Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at an Al Qaeda training camp in Somalia. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that the woman in this picture is neither Ilhan Omar nor was she pictured at an Al Qaeda training camp.

Where is the photo from?

We found that the photo was originally published by The Associated Press with the caption "Somalia Military Forces" on their website on February 8, 2016. The photo description reads, "A woman recruit of the Somali Army checks her automatic weapon at a military training campus at Halane, Mogadishu, on Feb. 25, 1978. On the right is her instructor. President Siad Barre said at a news conference that regular Somali military units have not yet been dispatched in the Ogaden region to avoid international complications. (AP Photo)"

Photo by The Associated Press (Source: AP)

The details of the photo state it was created on February 25, 1978. However, Omar was born in 1982, four years after this photo was taken. Further, the only Muslim woman elected to the U.S. Congress is Rashida Tlaib, who was two years old when this photo was taken.

This photo was posted in 2019 by a former Republican member of the North Dakota Senate, Oley Larsen, with a similar claim on Facebook. In reaction, Omar tweeted, "This is pure propaganda designed to stir up hate and violence coming from a GOP state rep. Facebook's unwillingness to crack down on hate speech and misinformation is not just threatening my life, but our democracy. " 

The photo and claim went viral in early 2020 and were fact-checked by several fact-checking organizations.

The verdict

This photo is from 1978 and shows a female recruit of the Somali Army, not an Al Qaeda member. The claim that it shows Ilhan Omar is false.