Dog wounded in Baghdadi raid back on duty

WASHINGTON: The military dog slightly wounded in the US raid which resulted in the death of terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is recovering and back on duty, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

General Mark Milley said the dog had performed a “tremendous service” during the special forces weekend assault in Syria that led to the death of the leader of the Islamic State group.

Announcing Baghdadi’s death, President Donald Trump said Sunday that the “beautiful” and “talented” dog had pursued the IS leader into a dark tunnel where he blew himself up with a suicide vest, killing himself and three children and wounding the dog.

The “wonderful” Belgian Malinois was injured when Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest on Saturday night inside his Syrian compound.

Baghdadi, one of the world’s most wanted men, died during a US operation in the Syrian province of Idlib.

“We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB,” Trump wrote on Monday.

Trump tweeted a picture of the dog on Monday, saying it did a “GREAT JOB.” He said the name of the dog has not been declassified yet.

Milley also declined to provide the dog’s name or any further details about the canine. “We’re not releasing the name of the dog right now,” the general said.

He said the dog had been “slightly wounded and is fully recovering.” “The dog is still in theater, returned to duty, with its handler,” he said.

We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi! pic.twitter.com/PDMx9nZWvw

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2019

The defence secretary, Mark Esper, said the dog “performed a tremendous service, as they all do”.

The US military commonly uses Belgian Malinois dogs to guide and protect troops, search out enemy forces and look for explosives. The breed is prized for its intelligence and ability to be aggressive on command, said Ron Aiello, president of the United States War Dogs Association.

“That’s the kind of dog you want to lead a patrol like this,” said Aiello, a former Marine dog handler whose organisation helps active duty and retired military dogs. “They are the first line of defence. They go out front.”

Not releasing the name makes sense as a security precaution for the same reason you would not identify the troops who took part in the raid, he said. “There could be retaliation.”

A Belgian Malinois service dog named Cairo accompanied US Navy Seals in the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, in Pakistan. President Barack Obama met the dog at a ceremony to honour the commandos.