Counter-terrorism animal killed in shootout with suspected terrorists from Paris attacks as police storm apartment north of capital

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A police dog called Diesel was killed during the raid on the apartment in St Denis, where the alleged mastermind of Friday’s atrocities in Paris was believed to be hiding.

A tweet by the French national police confirmed the death of the seven-year-old Malinois, or Belgian shepherd dog, from its Research, Assistance, Intervention and Deterrence (Raid) unit.

Police said it was killed by terrorists and a subsequent tweet underlined the importance of dogs such as Diesel in raids by police.

Police Nationale (@PNationale) Les chiens d'assaut et de recherche d'explosifs: indispensables dans les missions des opérateurs du #RAID pic.twitter.com/vb5lGjnwjO

Diesel had been sent in to the apartment ahead of officers to ascertain how dangerous the situation was when it was shot dead.

Five police officers subsequently suffered injuries in the operation to capture Abdelhamid Abaaoud in a raid that began at 4.25am (03.25 GMT).

Witnesses described hearing heavy gunfire and the sound of large explosions and grenades coming from the apartment building in rue du Cornillon. One male and one female suspected terrorists were killed in the six-hour operation. Seven people were arrested.

In the hours after, the hashtag #JeSuisChien was trending on Twitter in France.

Special forces regularly use dogs trained to sniff out explosives. During the raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, US navy Seals special forces used Cairo, also a Malinois, which had undergone the canine equivalent of special services training.

Cairo was responsible for helping to secure the perimeter of the Bin Laden house, sniffing out bombs and, if necessary, attacking people. He wore a Kevlar vest with harnesses for rappelling and parachuting, and a night-vision camera with a 180-degree field of vision.







