ISIS jihadists tried to turn a cute little dog into a suicide bomber — but the pooch survived the ordeal thanks to several warm-hearted Iraqi militiamen.
Three soldiers with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces are seen in a two-minute video clip bent over the shaggy pup, which has been strapped with three water bottles containing explosives. Electrical wires are attached to the devices.
The state-backed PMF, which released the video, did not reveal the troops’ location, but it’s believed the footage was shot near Mosul, according to Britain’s Express.
As the men defuse the miniature bomb vest, they turn to the camera and discuss ISIS suicide attacks in Arabic while petting the dog.
“Even animals. ISIS booby traps them and sends them out against us.â€
Another soldier exclaims, “ISIS has just sent an innocent animal with explosives wrapped around it to our position to try and blow our troops up,â€
The men say in the video that the remote-controlled device could have killed four people if they had not deactivated it in time.
“We have disarmed the explosives and taken them off [the dog],†one soldier says.
The canine was then shipped off to a zoo for veterinary observation.
“The animal is being sent to the Baghdad Zoo for a nice break from the war zone and well away from ISIS fighters trying to blow animals up for their sick war,†one fighter says.
ISIS has resorted to different measures in recent months in its campaign of terror, including the use of remote-controlled drones to drop hand grenades on rivals.
But the group’s new strategies seem to be overshadowed by its heavy losses. Many of its top leaders and military personnel have been taken out by US-led coalition forces.
ISIS has also relinquished large swaths of land it formerly controlled in Iraq.
The terror group still has control over Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, and maintains a makeshift capital in Raqqa, Syria.