WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. President Donald Trump has declassified and posted on Twitter, a photo of a dog that took part in the operation that led to the death of ISIS founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria on Saturday night.
However the president did not reveal the name of the dog, saying that the dog’s name remained classified.
The president did not explain why the photo of a dog who is part of an elite special forces unit should be displayed on his personal Twitter page, while not having it’s name revealed.
“We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!” Trump said in a tweet which accompanied the photo, posted early Monday night.
Yet earlier Monday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told an official press briefing at the Pentagon that photos and the name of the dog remained classified and would not be released.
“We’re not releasing the name of the dog right now. The dog is still in theater. The dog, the K-9, the military working dog performed a tremendous service, as they all do, in a variety of situations. Slightly wounded and fully recovering, but the dog is still in theater, returned to duty with its handler.
So we’re not going to release just yet photos or names of dogs or anything else,” Milley said.
Secretary Esper chimed in, saying : “We’re protecting his identity.”
“Protecting the dog’s identity,” Milley added.
The unnamed dog was injured during Saturday night’s offensive approximately four miles from the Turkish border in the Idlib province in Syria.
Later the name of the dog caused more confusion. It was reported in some quarters the name of the dog is classified, which led some to believe the dog’s name was actually ‘classified.’
“US official confirms that the working dog wounded in the Baghdadi raid is ok. I said, what’s the dog’s name? Source said, it’s classified. I said, really? Source said, yes,” Washington Post journalist Dan Lamothe said in a tweet.
“Confirmed with a second source: As of this morning, at least, the dog’s name is classified. Mind you, the dog’s name is not ‘Classified.’ But it’s classified,” he said in a follow-up tweet.