A picture of the "very good boy" that helped take down Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been released by the US President.
On Sunday (NZ Time), United States President Donald Trump announced that al-Baghdadi died during a US raid on a compound in north-western Syria.
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During the nighttime raid, US soldiers forced al-Baghdadi to run into a dead-end tunnel. The soldiers were supported by military dogs who tracked the Islamic State leader's movements.
When al-Baghdadi became trapped he detonated a suicide vest, which not only killed him and three children, but also injured one of the military dogs. The tunnel also collapsed as a result.
"He reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down...Our 'K-9', as they call it. I call it a dog. A beautiful dog - a talented dog - was injured and brought back," Trump said when announcing the death of the Islamic State leader.
The dog was only "slightly wounded", according to general Mark Milley, and was recovering and expected to return to duty.
On Tuesday morning (NZ Time), Trump tweeted a picture of the "wonderful dog" involved in the raid.
"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!" the President said.
The picture shows the dog with its tongue out and a camouflage vest on,
That was retweeted by the White House, which said he was a "very good boy".
The dog's name and gender has not officially been released, but USA Today cites a Defence Department official as saying the dog is a Belgian Malinois.
Al-Baghdadi's underwear tested before raid
The release of the pictures comes as more details about the raid come to light.
According to Polat Can, a senior adviser to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - which assisted in the raid - al-Baghdadi's underpants were DNA tested to verify his identity.
Can said the SDF had been working with the CIA since May 15 to track the terrorist leader and had confirmed his movement to north-western Syria.
Al-Baghdadi's remains have since been disposed at sea. The United States has no plans to release photos or videos of his death.
Newshub.
