Syrian activist rescues orphaned puppy from rubble of Baghdadi raid

Syrian activist rescues orphaned puppy from rubble of Baghdadi raid
The dog was orphaned after its mother was reportedly killed in the raid of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound in Idlib, Syria.
3 min read
29 October, 2019
The young dog was reportedly orphaned by a US airstrike [Fared Alhor/Twitter]
A Syrian media activist on Monday said he had rescued a puppy orphaned by the US special forces raid that witnessed the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the Islamic State group.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the extremist group chief's death on Sunday, saying he had killed himself by detonating a suicide vest after special forces raided his compound in northwestern Syria.

After US forces collected documents from the compound and arrested two men, the building was destroyed by an airstrike.

Fared Alhor, a Syrian media activist and photographer living in Idlib, posted a video on Monday showing the aftermath of the US airstrike.

Amid the rubble, he wrote on Twitter, was a puppy whose mother had been killed during the raid.

Alhor shared photos of the dusty young dog and screen captures of another older dog, presumably the puppy's mother. The dog appeared to be fatally maimed and crushed under shrapnel and rubble at the site.

Several Twitter users urged the activist to save the puppy. He later replied that he had done so.

"The mission is over after about 4 hours in the motorcycle," he wrote. "I went to the site and took the little dog to a safe place with young dogs and their mother. He is very happy with his new family."


Alhor also shared a video showing the young dog greeting another puppy at his new home in an undisclosed location.

The activist and photographer has been widely praised for his actions.

Just a few hours later, the US president shared another canine's story.

"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," Trump wrote in a tweet on Monday.

Military sources later told Newsweek the dog's name was Conan. 


The special forces canine was injured in the raid but has since returned to duty.

Alhor took the opportunity to draw attention to the orphaned puppy in Arisha, Idlib.

"Trump celebrates the bravery of one dog, but doesn't mention that another was collateral damage in his strikes," he wrote. 

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