Afghan Taliban Release Military Hostage Video of a Dog

Taliban forces in Afghanistan say they have captured an American military service dog and naturally decided to star the canine in a hostage propaganda video.

Taliban forces in Afghanistan say they have captured an American military service dog and naturally decided to star the canine in a hostage propaganda video. The dog remains calm and collected in the face of danger, because he is a dog.

Taliban forces released a video Thursday, claiming the dog was abducted after a recent firefight with American forces. (“The dog was of high significance to the Americans,” Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid told the Washington Post.) According to The Telegraph, however, the dog is actually British and belongs to the SAS. No one is really sure, because he doesn't have (sorry) dog tags.

The soldier, which appears to be a Belgian Malinois, stands bravely in the face of the brutish terrorists who spout anti-American rhetoric. The dog wears a black vest that is common for dogs used by coalition forces, when sniffing for bombs or otherwise accompanying coalition. soldiers. The dog wags its tail and seems generally unimpressed with the terrorists shouting and brandishing large weapons. 

“Allah gave victory to the mujahideen... Down with them, down with their spies!” one of the fighters says, according to the Washington Post. “This dog was named after a colonel,” another claims, according to the Telegraph. “It had a torch on it and its neck wore a GPS.”

The dog was captured during a fight between Taliban and coalition forces in December, 2013, a story seemingly confirmed by both the Taliban and the International Security Assistance Force. "We can confirm that a military working dog went missing following an ISAF mission in December, 2013," a spokesperson told the Telegraph. That's still no confirmation if this the same dog, or if maybe the Taliban just collared the vest and put on another mutt.

What happens next to the dog is unclear. Hopefully, it will be rescued from these brutes, or even escape, which isn't that far fetched. An Australian Army dog, Sabi, was found 14 months after fleeing a firefight in which her unit was ambushed by Taliban fighters. The dog survived after she was adopted by a Taliban leader who tried to sell her back to Australian forces. It didn't really work and the dog was released.

And while most animals lovers would be thrilled to see the dog rescued, we hope it doesn't become more famous than Bowe Bergdahl, the only American human soldier who has yet to come home, and is known to still be in captivity

For now we can only hope for that both hostages get a safe release. “I know for sure the handler is devastated,” Kevin Dredden, a former Air Force military dog handler, told the Post.