Saint Denis Paris Siege: Police Pay Tribute To Dog 'Diesel' Killed By Suicide Bomber

Paris Police Mourn Loss Of Beloved Dog Diesel Killed In Saint Denis Siege
|

A Belgian Shepherd police dog is being honored by the force after she was killed by a suicide bomber during a siege on the Paris terror suspects.

The seven-year-old female, named Diesel, was victim to the explosive when sent first into the apartment-under-siege earlier this morning.

Since the news of her death was confirmed by the Twitter account of Police Nationale, moving messages have poured in for the canine. One tribute wrote: "she gave her life to protect us".

The force said that 'assault and explosives' search dogs are indispensable to the work of the French anti-terror unit known as RAID.

An outpouring followed the police tweet, with some claiming the dog "died a hero":

The translation for this Tweet reads: "I have no words to explain how sorry I feel for Diesel"

"Diesel, dog assault of the Raid killed in #SaintDenis she gave her life to protect us. RIP I love you so much"

To honor Diesel, people are also taking to Twitter to share pictures of their own dogs, some dressed in police uniform:

Diesel was the victim of an early morning armed raid which began at 4am local time at the Saint-Denis suburb in the north of the city, close to the Stade de France national stadium.

By midmorning the French government confirmed the raid was over though it was not immediately clear if the alleged target Abdelhamid Abaaoud had been captured or killed. The identity of those killed and arrested has not been confirmed yet.

Two people were killed during the siege, including the female suicide bomber. Seven people were arrested and five police officers injured during the seven hour operation.

The Paris tragedy saw three suicide bombers launch attacks across the city, so far killing at least 129 people.