When the IS leader heard the fire fight, he ran into a tunnel with three of his children, Donald Trump said during a press conference on Sunday's nightly operation against Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. As the soldiers feared that he was wearing a suicide vest, a dog was sent into the tunnel, which resulted in the terror leader blasting himself and the children.
The dog was injured during the operation, Trump said at the time. Now he has released a picture of the dog on Twitter, which he describes as the "wonderful dog who did a great job of catching and killing the IS leader".
However, the name of the dog Trump did not want to reveal, as it risks revealing his driver's identity. The dog, a Belgian shepherd dog of the Malinois variant, is still part of a secret military operation, announced Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley on Monday and must therefore remain anonymous at this time.
Can be aggressive on command- The US military often uses Belgian herding dogs to guide and protect troops. They look for enemies and look for explosives. The breed is hailed for its intelligence and ability to be aggressive in command, Ron Aiello, president of the American War Dog Association, told The Guardian magazine.
There was also a Belgian shepherd named Cairo who participated in the raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011. President Obama met Cairo and paid tribute to him during a ceremony. In the Swedish police system the breed is also used, about 20 percent of Swedish police dogs are Belgian herding dogs.