Les chiens d'assaut et de recherche d'explosifs: indispensables dans les missions des opérateurs du #RAID pic.twitter.com/vb5lGjnwjO
— Police nationale (@PoliceNationale) November 18, 2015
A seven-hour siege in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, ended with the arrest of seven suspected terrorists connected to last week’s attacks, and the deaths of two more.
The raid, which targeted Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the supposed ringleader of the operation that left 129 dead on Friday, was described as a “big victory,” but it came with a cost: Five French officers suffered minor injuries and a police dog was murdered by a female suicide bomber. (It’s also unknown whether Abaaoud is among the detained or dead.) The Police National tweeted that the Belgian shepherd, Diesel, was “indispensable in the missions of operators.”
She was sent in to the building to sniff out booby traps but was blown to pieces when [Abaaoud’s] jihadi bride came out firing her AK-47 at police before detonating her suicide vest. (Via Daily Mail)
Reuters reports that “the raid stopped a jihadist cell that had been planning an attack on Paris’ business district,” with French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, adding, “This morning’s actions were conducted against people who could have attacked again. But an officer described Diesel’s death as “a little like losing one of our colleagues.” The tributes are already pouring in, many with the hashtag #JeSuisChien, French for “I am dog.”
https://twitter.com/selimmuse4/status/666920391361880065
RIP Diesel the French anti-terror poolice dog who was blown up in St. Denis today. You were the best girl, Diesel. pic.twitter.com/MIEiWCBX4C
— Bina Shah (@BinaShah) November 18, 2015
RIP Diesel. Thank you for your incredible service. Repose en paix. Austin thanks you as well. #JeSuisChien pic.twitter.com/lyeIldRbqH
— Erika M. (@rinkrebel) November 18, 2015
https://twitter.com/ManuBresset/status/666954224480178177
https://twitter.com/rosslmarchant/status/666956747186282496
https://twitter.com/Jamesmania_10/status/667003898985451520
https://twitter.com/LoulouteBGirl/status/666965842991718400
(Via Reuters)