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POST TIME: 27 November, 2019 00:00 00 AM
Trump presents US dog, ‘incredible’ hero of Baghdadi raid
AFP, Washington

Trump presents US dog, ‘incredible’ hero of Baghdadi raid

US President Donald Trump (L), Vice President Mike Pence (2nd L) and First Lady Melania Trump ® stand with Conan, the military dog that was involved with the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, at the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday. AFP photo

“So this is Conan—right now, probably the world’s most famous dog.”

In a stream of superlatives, Donald Trump on Monday introduced to the world the military dog involved in the raid that led to the death of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“Conan did a fantastic job,” the US president told the White House press corps, assembled for a brief, unannounced ceremony with the Belgian Malinois and its handler.

“So brilliant, so smart,” said Trump, joined for the event by First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence who lavished fulsome praise of his own on the four-legged “hero.”

“The dog is incredible,” Trump continued. “Conan is a tough cookie. And nobody is going to mess with Conan.”

According to the US account of the raid on Baghdadi last month, Conan cornered the jihadist leader in a dead-end tunnel in his Syrian hideout, where Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and two children.

Conan was injured by the electric cables exposed in the detonation but appeared to have made a full recovery.