A seven-year-old police dog in France has been killed in a grueling, seven-hour raid against alleged terrorists.
The dog, a Malinois named Diesel, was the only member of the police force killed, though five officers were wounded. Police had cornered nine suspected terrorists in St.-Denis, a suburb north of Paris, killing two and detaining the remaining seven.
[INFO] Diesel, malinois de 7 ans, chienne d'assaut du #RAID a été tuée par les terroristes dans l'opération en cours #SaintDenis
— Police nationale (@PoliceNationale) November 18, 2015
The raid was initiated to track down the suspected mastermind of Friday’s Islamic State-affiliated attacks on Paris, which left 129 dead. Police believe all but one perpetrator was killed during the attacks.
As reported by the New York Times, it’s not yet clear if the alleged mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was in the apartment. “It is currently impossible to give you the identities of the people who were arrested, which are being verified,” Paris prosecutor François Molins said.
Authorities believe Abaaoud is the link between leaders of the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks in Paris, and terrorist cells in Europe.
It’s not clear how Diesel was killed. But soon after police announced his death, the hashtag #JeSuisChien—“I am dog”—went viral in France. The similar “#JeSuisCharlie” became a rallying cry in January, after terrorists attacked the Paris offices of the irreverent political humor magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12.
https://twitter.com/ManuBresset/status/666954224480178177
True hero! He died today for your freedom tomorrow!#wewillneverforget #hero #JeSuisChien #jesuismin #diesel pic.twitter.com/OKxYgkaws6
— crossclub 24 (@crossclub24) November 18, 2015
The hashtag did draw critics, however, who noted that Diesel may have received more public sympathy than victims of recent terrorist attacks in Lebanon and Nigeria, which respectively killed 40 and 32.
We can pull together for a French DOG, but actual Syrian people? Nah. Lebanese? Nah. Nigerian? Nah.#JeSuisChien https://t.co/rthbgAcJqm
— Absurdistwords (@absurdistwords) November 18, 2015
H/T Huffington Post | Illustration by Max Fleishman