Captured British dog of war paraded in Taliban propaganda video

In the annals of prisoner-of-war videos, it seems to be a first. A slightly befuddled dog appears on a leash, surrounded by heavily armed, bearded men boasting of their battlefield captive.

Wearing a black protective vest, the Belgian malinois wags its tail at certain points and appears more confused than terrified as its captors show off captured weaponry and a global positioning device with a blinking light that they say came attached to the canine.

"Allah gave victory to the mujahideen!" one of the fighters exclaims. "Down with them, down with their spies!"

A link to the video was posted this week on the Twitter account of a user who often disseminates Taliban propaganda. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the dog was captured after a long firefight between coalition forces and Taliban fighters in the Alin Nigar district of Afghanistan's Laghman province in late December. The dog, he said in a telephone interview on Thursday, carried the rank of colonel and was outfitted with sophisticated electronic devices.

"The dog was of high significance to the Americans," he said.

Coalition military dogs are given ranks that make them senior to their handlers, a practice designed to ensure that the humans treat the animals with deference. They have a rank patch on their body armour.

Coalition spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Will Griffin confirmed the force lost a military working dog during an operation in December. He did not provide further details. Pentagon officials said they could recall no prior instance of a military working dog being taken captive.