A French police dog named Diesel was killed during during a counter-terror operation in the northern Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis.
The 7-year-old Belgian Shepherd lost his life sometime in the early hours of Wednesday morning during an apartment raid targeting the alleged mastermind of the deadly Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Five police officers were injured in the line of duty during the siege.
French Police tweeted a picture of Diesel along with the news of his death on Wednesday morning. “Assault and explosives search dogs are indispensable in the missions of the operators of the raid,” police said.
People took to social media to post about the dog’s service using hashtags such as #RIPDiesel, #JeSuisUnChien (“I am a dog”) and #NotAllHeroesAreHuman. The hashtag #RIPDiesel has been used over 3,500 times, according to the social analytics site Topsy.
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Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com