competing narratives or a lie exposed?

"A rebel group calling itself the Hawks Special Operations Battalion said in a video posted on YouTube that it had “eliminated” the Russian, Gen. Vladimir Petrovich Kochyev. The video showed what the rebels said was a copy of an identity card issued by the Russian military. The Russian news media denied the rebel claim, quoting the general as saying he was in Moscow.   It was not clear whether the competing narratives were part of the broader propaganda war between Damascus and its adversaries".  What competing narratives? The FSA claimed that they killed a Russian general and the general later appeared on Russian TV alive. What narratives here? A lie was exposed.