The US president posted photos and praised the dog for completing the mission in the campaign to destroy the supreme leader IS al-Baghdadi.

"We deconstructed the photo of the great dog (anonymously) who had done a great job of capturing and killing the Supreme Leader of the Islamic State (IS) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," the President said. US Donald Trump posted the status line on Facebook on October 28 with a picture of the dog. The post has received more than 440,000 likes and more than 80,000 shares.

The dog of the US special forces became a "hero" when chasing al-Baghdadi down a tunnel under a hideout in the village of Barisha, Idlib province, northwestern Syria and injured him. Al-Baghdadi then detonated his suicide belt next to his three children when he realized there was no way out. The dog was also injured in the explosion.

This "hero" may be the Belgian Malinois, a dog favored by many militaries in many countries. US military officials said all information about the dog, including its name, was confidential.

"This is considered a secret, we are protecting the dog's identity. It is slightly injured but is fully recovered and will soon return to duty," US Army Chief of Staff Council President Mark Milley said. .

This is not the first time a US special dog has been involved in counterterrorism, nor was it the first Malinois dog to contribute to the campaign to hunt down terrorist leaders. The Cairo dog of the US Navy SEAL Team 6 used to hunt and kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.