Hero dog to get White House homecoming, says Trump

The dog wounded in the raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is getting a White House homecoming next week.

The digital mischief from the Daily Wire. Picture: Twitter

The “hero” dog wounded in the US special forces 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 Friday.

Mr Trump revealed that the military dog, a Belgian malinois, is named Conan — up until now 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.

Mr Trump posted a photomontage on Twitter showing him bestowing a Medal of Honour 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.

Donald Trump awards the Medal of Honour to James McCloughan at the White House in 2017. Picture: AP

It was unclear what else lies in store for Conan, but it has been noted that Mr Trump is the first US president in more than 100 years who doesn’t own a dog.

Conan was injured when it stepped on exposed wires while chasing Baghdadi into a dead-end tunnel in his Syrian hideout, where the cornered ISIS leader detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and two children.

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

The photomontage that Mr Trump retweeted was produced by the conservative publication Daily Wire.

It used a White House picture of the President draping the Medal of Honour, the nation’s highest military honour, around the neck of James McCloughan, a former army medic distinguished for saving lives under fire during the Vietnam War.

AFP