Sit! Slay!
This is the American dog of war who chased down and cornered evil ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in his final desperate moments before the terrorist blew himself to hell with a suicide vest in his dingy Syrian lair.
President Trump on Monday afternoon tweeted a photo of the four-legged hero, clad in what appears to be a camouflage harness and with its tongue lolling out of its mouth — belying its US Army-trained ferocity.
“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!” wrote the president.
The pooch — a Belgian Malinois named Conan, according to reports in Newsweek and the Washington Examiner — was unleashed after Baghdadi when the coward fled US troops down a dead-end tunnel late Saturday.
Before Conan could turn the murderous mastermind into a human chew toy, Baghdadi detonated his bomb vest, killing himself and three of his kids, causing a small cave-in — and wounding his furry pursuer.
But amazingly, Conan has already been cleared to return to service, Pentagon officials said Monday.
“The dog is still in theater,” said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a press briefing. “The dog … performed a tremendous service as they all do in a variety of situations.”
Conan was “slightly wounded and fully recovering, but the dog is still in theater, returned to duty with its handler,” he added.
At the time, Milley declined to name the canine — saying the Department of Defense was “protecting the dog’s identity” — or elaborate on its intended role.
But the Navy SEALs who took down 9/11 engineer Osama bin Laden also had a tail-wagging secret weapon, utilizing another Belgian Malinois named Cairo in the 2011 mission to sniff out potential bombs and, if necessary, attack enemy combatants.
Milley’s tight-lipped approach was a common sentiment in Monday’s briefing, as few new details about the momentous mission trickled out.
Milley confirmed that photos and video of the raid are going through a “declassification process” for release in the coming days, but declined to reveal exactly what they showed, at what point during the mission they were taken or if any were shot from a camera mounted on the dog.
He similarly refused to elaborate on the nature of ISIS intelligence that was culled from the clandestine lair before it was leveled by American bombs.
Milley did acknowledge that two men were nabbed alive in the raid and are being held in American custody, but declined to offer any clues as to their identity or roles.
One thing that both Milley and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made clear, however, is that the exercise demonstrated America’s ability to neutralize targets wherever they may hide.
“From an operational standpoint, the United States military can strike any target, anywhere, any time,” Milley said when asked if the mission would have proved more difficult without an established US presence in the region.
Added Esper, “We have incredible reach. … The terrorists should be aware of that.”