Taliban Say Captured Dog Is Being Well Cared For

As we reported, the rather sad-looking Malinois is seen in a video with Taliban militants, who claim they captured the “American military” dog during a firefight. It seems to be the first time a canine is used in a prisoner of war video.

The Telegraph reports that Zabiullah Mujahid, a well-known Taliban spokesman, says the militant group is keeping the dog and trying “to look after him.”

The paper adds:

“‘Right now we are keeping the dog and trying to look after him,’ he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

“‘It is not like the local dogs which will eat anything and sleep anywhere.

“‘We have to prepare him proper food and make sure he has somewhere to sleep properly.’

“That means making kebabs and providing blankets for its comfort, he added.

“‘We haven’t decided what to do with it yet,’ he said. ‘Maybe we will keep it and use it ourselves because it has been trained.'”

Meanwhile, CNN reports that a U.S. official tells them the dog belongs to British troops.

“The official declined to go on record because it is the policy of the NATO alliance that each country makes its own announcement about its situation,” CNN reports.

If you’re interested in how these dogs are used in a war zone, National Geographic takes a historical look at combat canines.