He completed 50 combat missions across the Middle East. He charged into danger without hesitation. And when ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi fled into a dark underground tunnel lined with deadly traps, one fearless warrior went after him.<\/p>\n
His name was Conan.<\/p>\n
What happened next would save American lives, help end one of the most dangerous manhunts in modern history, and earn him a place among the greatest military heroes of all time.<\/p>\n
“HE CHASED THE WORLD’S MOST WANTED TERRORIST INTO A TUNNEL. HE CAME OUT. THE TERRORIST DIDN’T. CONAN DIED IN NOVEMBER 2023. END OF WATCH.”
50 combat missions.
One tunnel.
One terrorist.
Conan went in.
Al-Baghdadi didn’t come out.
SOF Conan was a U.S. Army Special Operations military working dog who had served in 50 combat missions before the siege that resulted in the death of the leader of ISIS.
The raid \u2014 known as “Operation Kayla Mueller” \u2014 started at around 5 PM local time on October 26, 2019, in Barisha, Syria, intending to isolate and capture Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Baghdadi \u2014 clad in a suicide vest and using his family as human shields \u2014 tried to escape through an underground tunnel. On the way in, Conan was exposed to an electrical trap set through the water in the tunnel and took the brunt of the shock to alert his unit of danger. This heroic action saved the lives of his handlers. Being cornered by Conan and the Americans, Baghdadi pulled the trigger and killed both himself and five members of his family.
President Trump honored Conan at the White House.
He knelt beside him.
He called him a wonderful dog.
Due to his heroism during the raid, Conan was awarded a special, one-of-a-kind medal akin to the human Medal of Honor by then-President Donald Trump.
Conan’s handler reveals that he “started working with Conan in 2015. He deployed four times with me to multiple countries in the Middle East.”
After Conan’s injury, Conan’s handler took him in as part of his family: “he was like a part of my family, both my military family and my family at home.”
Conan died in November 2023 of cancer and injuries sustained during service.
His handler described him as a “Fearless Warrior.”
End of Watch. SOF Conan. Delta Force. United States Army.
50 missions. One tunnel. One terrorist.
Presidential Medal. The White House.
End of Watch \u2014 November 2023.
Fearless Warrior.
Always.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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