White House homecoming for ‘hero’ dog who took part in Baghdadi raid, tweets Donald Trump

Donald Trump posted an edited image of the dog on Twitter showing him bestowing a medal of honor on the dog named Conan.

The “hero” dog wounded in the US commando raid that culminated in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is getting a White House homecoming next week, President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

Donald Trump revealed that the military dog, who took part in Baghdadi raid, is named Conan. (Twitter/@realDonaldTrump)

Trump revealed that the military dog, a Belgian Malinois, is named “Conan” -- heretofore a closely guarded secret because the information could be used to identify the special forces unit that carried out the raid in Syria over the weekend.

Trump posted a photomontage on Twitter showing him bestowing a medal of honor on the dog with the legend: “AMERICAN HERO.” “Very cute recreation, but the ‘live’ version of Conan will be leaving the Middle East for the White House sometime next week!” he tweeted.

Edited image shows the US President Trump honouring Conan. (Twitter/@realDonaldTrump)

It was unclear what else lies in store for Conan, but it has been noted that Trump is the first US president in more than a hundred years who doesn’t own a dog.

Conan was injured chasing Baghdadi into a dead end tunnel in his Syrian hideout, where the cornered IS leader detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and two children, according to the US account.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, said earlier this week that the hero dog was expected to make a full recovery and was already back with his handlers.