Paris siege: French K9 National Police dog named Diesel killed in action
The siege in Paris’ Saint-Denis suburb on Thursday which left at least 2 people dead also included a French dog among the casualties. The 7-year-old Belgian shepherd police dog named Diesel ended his service with France’s Police Nationale after being blown to pieces by a suicide bomber.
The official Twitter account of Police Nationale announced the death of the heroic dog Diesel.
According to Google Translate, the tweet, which was in French is roughly translated as “ Diesel, malinois 7 years assault of #RAID dog was killed by terrorists in the current operation #SaintDenis”
Another tweet from Police Nationale shows Diesel’s photo, with a caption that is translated as “ Assault and dogs for explosives : indispensable in the missions of operators #RAID ,”
Diesel was reportedly sent into a building when a woman suddenly fired at the police and detonated her suicide vest, killing the heroic canine in the process.
The Twitter hashtag, #JeSuisChien which means "I am dog," was created as a tribute to the Diesel.
Even Sky News reporter Kay Burley paid her respects to Diesel after being mocked this week for tweeting a depressed-looking Labrador captioning it with “Sadness in his eyes” and linking it to the Paris attacks.
People who were near the scene of the Paris siege reportedly heard heavy gunfire and explosions. Aside from Diesel and the suicide bomber, the raid also ended the life of another person suspected of being a terrorist, according to the National Public Radio’s (NPR) The Two-Way website. It also led to the arrest of eight suspects in the Friday the 13th attacks. CNN reports that the arrests didn’t include suspected ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud or Salah Abdeslam.
Sniffer dogs are also used in other war zones. During the raid of Osama bin Laden, a U.S. K9 named Cairo helped to secure the area. Cairo, a Belgian Malinois, was responsible for sniffing out bombs and attacking enemies if needed, according to the New York Post. Cairo has the distinction of being the first K9 to be deployed by The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams (SEALs). Unlike Diesel, the heroic dog in the recent Paris siege, Cairo survived his dangerous job. The brave Belgian Malinois has since retired and is living with its handler Lloyd in the U.S.
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