The military dog injured in last month’s raid to kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been welcomed to the White House by President Donald Trump.
Conan, the Delta Force dog, was injured in the military operation, but has since recovered.
“We actually just gave Conan a medal and a plaque,” said President Trump, flanked by his wife and vice-president Mike Pence.
“I actually think Conan knew exactly what was going on. But a dog that is very, very special.”
Conan’s role in the raid was announced by Mr Trump when he addressed the nation last month.
“Our K-9, as they call — I call it a dog, a beautiful dog, a talented dog — was injured and brought back,” he told the press.
The dog’s participation in the raid quickly went viral, leading Mr Trump to declassify a picture of Conan via tweet.
“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!” he wrote.
Shortly after, he reposted a photoshopped picture of himself placing a medal around the Belgian Malinois’ neck that quickly became one of his most retweeted posts.
Conan’s fame has only risen since, and the dog was depicted in a satirical White House press briefing on Saturday Night Live.
"The dog is incredible. Actually incredible," said President Trump on Monday.
"We spent some good time with it. So brilliant and so smart."
President Trump also noted that he had met in the Oval Office with some of the two-legged participants in the Baghdadi raid, noting that “for obvious reasons, they can’t be out in front of the media.”
Mr Pence also spoke briefly, calling Conan a true “hero." He described welcoming the dog to the White House as a “real joy.”
“Conan was very badly hurt as you know, and they thought maybe he was not to recover. He recovered very quickly and has since gone on very important raids,” President Trump interjected, calling the dog a “tough cookie” and asserting that “nobody is going to mess with him."
President Trump jokingly added that the special forces officers told him an unarmed terrorist “would have no chance” against Conan.
“So that’s amazing. And yet you see how beautiful and calm they are in situations like this,” he said.
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