IN the midst of the raid targeting the leader of the Islamic State was this: at least one military working dog who chased Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi into a tunnel before he detonated a suicide vest and died.
Intrigue about the dog began building after the president disclosed that Baghdadi died during a U.S. Special Operations raid and that the dog was injured. The raid was carried out by elite members of Delta Force and the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, according to several U.S. officials with knowledge of the operation.
“Our canine, as they call – I call it a dog, a beautiful dog, a talented dog – was injured and brought back,” President Donald Trump said.
On Monday, the Pentagon kept most details about the covert canine, including its name and background, on a tight leash. But in a nation in which nearly half of Americans own a dog, according to a Gallup poll, it was unlikely that would last.
On Monday, Trump boosted the story, tweeting a declassified photograph of the furry special operator – a Belgian Malinois – in an armored vest. In the image, its ears stood alert and its tongue hung loose – and it appeared that the Secret Very Good Boy might actually be a Secret Very Good Girl.”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!” Trump wrote.