Hero dog Conan that helped kill Baghdadi meets Trump
Washington, Nov 25: US President Donald Trump on Monday publicly introduced Conan, the specially trained "Hero dog" that helped American commandoes in the mission that led to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr-al Baghdadi.
Baghdadi, 48, died in October after the world's most wanted terrorist was chased by the US special forces along with military working dogs. He blew up his suicide vest following the US raid on his compound in Syria's Idlib province.
The
dog
was
brought
to
visit
the
White
House
and
met
President
Trump
in
his
Oval
Office.
It
later
appeared
before
the
White
House
press
corps
in
the
Rose
Garden
along
with
Trump,
the
First
Lady
Melania
and
Vice
President
Mike
Pence.
Trump
also
met
with
Special
Forces
involved
in
the
attack
in
Northern
Syria
that
resulted
in
the
death
of
Baghdadi.
The
commandoes
did
not
come
out
in
the
public.
"Al Baghdadi is gone, but it was a flawless attack," Trump told reporters. Trump said he met with the soldiers and had given Conan an award.
He said, "The "dog is incredible". "So brilliant and so smart," Trump said. He said both the soldiers and Conan did a "fantastic job".
In his remarks, Trump repeatedly praised Conan's performance and described his breed as the "ultimate" at fighting and drug sniffing. He did not directly answer a question about whether he would adopt Conan, but he said that the dog would not be retiring and had more time to serve.
According to a White House official, Conan was not accompanied by his normal handler for this appearance since the handler participated in the Baghdadi raid and cannot appear publicly.
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Conan appeared to be very calm and composed, during his Rose Garden appearance. The cannine, a four-year veteran of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Canine Programme, has been a member of approximately 50 combat missions and was injured during the raid at the hideout of Baghdadi in northwestern Syria.