Diesel, the police dog, was shot dead by terrorists during the latest raid aimed at capturing Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud. The four-legged heroes' task had been launched in advance, to see how dangerous the situation was, when he was mortally wounded by the terrorists. It was the French police with a tweet that confirmed the loss of the "policeman".
Diesel he was seven years old, a Malinois and was trained in research, assistance, intervention and deterrence in support of the French police's emergency response units. Diesel was the first to enter the terrorists' apartment. The latter did not hesitate for a moment to hit him to death.
Immediately having heard the shots against their "comrade", the agents poured into the apartment in the rue du Cornillon, throwing stun grenades.
Five officers were injured. Two terrorists were killed, seven others were arrested.
After handcuffing them, the French first brought the hero dog out of the building, now lifeless.
Diesel he was greeted with applause and with special bodies standing at attention to honor the fallen comrade. After and only later, the terrorists were transferred.
Hero dogs: Cairo, the four-legged Seal
When US President Barack Obama went to Fort Campbell, for an advertised (but very private) meeting with the command that killed Osama Bin Laden, only one of the 81 members of the super-secret Seal DevGru unit (or Seal Team Six), has been identified by name: Cairo, the Seal's war dog.
Cairo, like most Navy Seal dogs, it is a Belgian Malinois. And like the human Seal, even dogs represent the best of the best. The Malinois breed is similar to the German shepherd, but smaller. An adult male weighs about 30 kg.
German shepherds are still used as war dogs by the American military, but the lighter Malinois are considered better for tandem launch with parachutes and for abseiling, techniques often used by Seal teams.
Like their human counterparts, Seal dogs are highly qualified, super-motivated, experienced in unconventional tactics and capable of carrying out missions on the sea, in the air and on the mainland (the acronym Seal means Sea, Air and Land).
Dogs have some specific characteristics: with a sense of smell 40 times more developed than humans, they are trained to detect and identify both explosive material and hidden hostile subjects. Dogs are twice as fast as a fit human, so anyone trying to escape could never run faster than Cairo or his friends.
Seal dogs are also paratroopers: jump or tandem with their handlers or alone if in the water. Seal dogs are faithful, fearless and fierce. They are more lethal than a bullet. When the Seal DevGru team entered the compound of Bin Laden, the first to touch Pakistan was indeed Cairo. And like the human Seal, too Cairo he wore the best ballistic protection available on the planet: a Kevlar armor, called "Storm K9". Cairo it was also equipped with special night vision equipment with infrared functionality to allow the operator connected remotely to identify human figures even through concrete, thanks to the heat emitted.
The Seal, which has its own unlimited budget that cannot be modified or reduced by law, then added other hi-tech details that made the armor "Storm K9", the best "assault dog of the planet".
Akil, the Tunisian hero
He fought as an element of special departments. He preferred to take some bullets to save the lives of his companions. Akil, the Tunisian dog of special departments that broke into the Bardo museum, the 19 last March, died a hero. The wolfhound was one and a half years old.
The "warrior" left the operational theater lifeless now, on a stretcher. People, huddled in front of the museum, at the passage of the now lifeless hero began to applaud, shouting and honoring the fallen man who sadly made his way through the crowd. Honor and glory to every living being that fights against terrorism. Honor and glory to men, women and animals who fight against devious enemies who carry out massacres in the name of a distorted religion.
The terrorists exalt their martyrs, we remember our warriors for freedom, without any distinction. Honor and glory to the hero dogs.
The brothers do not give up
On February 10th last year the fighters showed in a video a dog captured in eastern Afghanistan. It was a Military Working Dog (MWD), a dog belonging to the SAS (Special Air Service), the elite of the British special departments. The short video was released through a twitter account used by the Taliban for propaganda purposes. In the video you could see several Taliban fighters surrounding the chained dog, while at least two M-4 rifles equipped with suppressors, advanced optics and other special equipment.
Probably the SAS dog disappeared during a night raid in the Alingar district. It is possible that the dog separated from its 'handler' during a firefight with the Taliban, making it impossible for anyone to recover it. In the same operation, a special forces soldier, Captain Richard Holloway, lost his life.
The dog was a Belgian Malinois by name Colonel (Colonel) and was found wearing a small GPS tracking device, a torch and a small camera. All these elements were on a system of suspenders worn by the dog, the same type of equipment used to infiltrate and exfiltrate animals in the wake of special departments.
In the video, "Colonel" was shown disoriented, a little undernourished and chained. According to the Pentagon, this was the first incident in which a special ward dog was taken prisoner. In the past, there were cases in Iraq where propaganda rebels showed dogs and then used them as unconscious kamikazes.
Immediately after the video was released, the Special Operations Command ordered shadow missions to retrieve that missing team member. Several SEAL and SAS teams participated in the operations. Needless to say the echo that this operation had in the United States and Great Britain.
Beyond the operations conducted (covered by military secrecy), this is yet another example of the different approach that Italy's allies have in dealing with the "Special Departments" issue. The "Do not abandon anyone" directive applies to everyone.
