Policy & Strategy

Missing military dog may be captured by the Taliban

A coalition military dog that went missing last year might have been captured by the Taliban. 

International Security Assistance Force officials confirmed to the BBC a military dog went missing during a mission last year, and the Taliban has released footage of what they say is a dog captured from U.S. troops. 

{mosads}According to the BBC, the dog served with British forces. Taliban representatives in the video said the dog was captured during a night raid in Laghman in eastern Afghanistan wearing a GPS tracking device, a torch and a small camera. 

The video shows a small-reddish dog being led by Taliban insurgents on a leash and wearing a vest. His name, according to the BBC, is “Colonel.” 

The insurgents also showed off captured weapons of a type frequently used by American special forces.

Our correspondent says there were local reports a few weeks ago that a senior Taliban commander in the area was seen with a “foreign dog.”

But the video is the first positive sighting.

Coalition forces have long used sniffer and protection dogs in Afghanistan, mostly German shepherds, Labradors or spaniels.