President Donald Trump on Monday shared a photo of a "wonderful" dog who joined in the raid against Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. However, authorities said the dog's name is still classified.
Heroic dog which President Trump praised during the military operations against ISIS leader.
UP President Donald Trump tweeted the photo of a dog after General Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave updates regarding the hound, whose role in the raid was first disclosed by the President on Sunday.
"We will not [disclose] the [dog's name] right now," Gen. Milley told reporters at a news conference giving new details on the raid. The official explained that the dog "is still in theater" and "retuned to duty," hence they could not provide the information of the heroic dog.
Trump, by late afternoon, was allowed to post dog's photo on his Twitter account. The dog, whose name is reported as Conan according to a Newsweek report, was wearing a special vest or harness in the photo.
"We have declassified a [photo] 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!" Trump had said.
Mark Hertling, a retired three-star general, said on his Twitter account that there are reasons for classifying the dog's name. He explained that revealing the name could "inadvertently reveal" the handler's name and the military unit used in the raid.
The president said on Sunday that the dog was one of several who chased Al-Baghdadi into a tunnel. There was a mention of inflicted injuries for when the ISIS leader set off a suicide vest, but General Milley did not say anything about the dog being injured.
The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to inquiries about the dog's breed. Experts, however, revealed that it belongs to a breed called the Belgian Malinois, the same breed used by Navy SEALs to aid them during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011.
Judy Hagen, the president of the American Belgian Malinois Club, said in a Washington Post article that these kinds of breeds have "a great deal of courage and willingness to work." She added Belgian Malinois are "very intelligent" and are "easily trained."
According to Hagen, Belgians could cost from US$ 1,500 for a puppy to over US$ 30,000 for a fully-trained security dog.
The animal's identity who joined the raid became the subject of curiousity since Trump used positive words to describe the dog's heroic acts on Sunday. Trump, in the same news conference, used belittling words to describe the ISIS leader's death.
"He died like a dog," Trump said as he praised the canine for pursuing al-Baghdadi. The President said the "beautiful, talented" K-9 was "injured and brought back."
A senior official said on Monday that U.S. President Trump wanted to meet the dog and the canine was invited for a visit at the White House.
Trump, earlier this year in a rally in El Pado, thought his allies and supporters encouraged him to get a dog as it would be a "political asset."
"You do love your dogs, don't you?" Mr. Trump had asked. He said he would not mind having one but he does not have any time. He even asked his audience at the time about how he would look walking a dog across the lawn of the White house though no further clarifications were divulged as to whether he is actually considering of getting one.
Trump's apparently complex relationship with dogs has started to catch the attention and has evolved into a matter of social curiosity in the recent years. Critics and supporters have all wondered and noted that Trump does not have a dog living with him at the White House.