Trump honors military dog injured in Baghdadi raid

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump hosted an impromptu ceremony Monday to honor Conan, the military dog who was injured during the raid that resulted in the death of Daesh/ISIS's former chief.

Trump told reporters in the White House Rose Garden that he bestowed Conan, whom he called "the world's most famous dog," with a medal and plaque for his role in the operation that led to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death.

"I think Conan actually knew exactly what was going on," he said, adding that Conan is "very, very special."

"Conan is a tough cookie. Nobody's going to mess with Conan," he added.

The dog was injured during the Oct. 26 U.S. raid in northwestern Syria that led to Baghdadi's death. Trump said he met behind closed doors with some of the special forces members who carried out the "flawless attack."

Baghdadi's terror organization has since named Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi as its new leader.

The name is a nom de guerre, or kunya, and U.S. officials have acknowledged little is known about him.

Under Baghdadi, Daesh spread over wide segments of Iraq and Syria beginning in 2013, eventually claiming the formation of a "caliphate" in the region as it plotted and carried out gruesome attacks that reached far beyond its main territorial bastion. It further set up local affiliates in other regions as it released heinous execution videos on to the internet.

Baghdadi had been a top target for both the Trump and Obama administrations, and had a $25 million bounty placed on his head.

As the U.S.-led coalition took back territories once under the terror group's hold, Baghdadi increasingly stayed in the shadows, only rarely releasing pre-recorded audio messages to his followers.