A much-loved longtime law enforcement
canine lost its life last night as members of France’s elite hostage rescue and
counter-terror team known as RAID assaulted a Paris apartment safe-house
containing individuals suspected of planning another attack, according to
reports.
The Belgian Sheepdog named Diesel is said
to have died as it made its way through an apartment building ahead of a
tactical team to look for booby traps and explosives. As the dog was going
about its mission a woman wearing a suicide vest and toting an AK-47 suddenly
appeared, blowing herself up shortly after engaging police.
During that exchange and explosion, Diesel
was killed, the BBC reports. Five members of the police team were also lightly
injured during the engagement. More than 5,000 rounds of ammunition were used
by police in the siege and the apartment building is so badly damaged that it
could totally collapse.
Diesel was seven years old and highly
trained to integrate with RAID’s teams who face some of the the most
challenging tactical scenarios imaginable. The hero dog’s death has resulted in
a flood of social media tributes, with the hashtags #Diesel and #JeSuisUnChien
making their rounds on Twitter.
In all, two suspects were killed and seven
were taken into custody. Thereare conflicting reports as to status of the
supposed terror mastermind of the Friday the 13th Paris attacks and whether he
was at the apartment building or not.
The attackers who were sacked by the RAID
team are said to have been about to strike Charles de Gaulle International
Airport and a major shopping district in central Paris.
Source of article: Foxtrot Alpha
