The Pentagon is saying the United States did not leave any service dogs behind in Afghanistan, after a photo of animals left in cages went viral.
“To correct erroneous reports, the US Military did not leave any dogs in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport, including the reported military working dogs,” said Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs John Kirby in a tweet.
Instead, Kirby said the pictures were of animals “under the care of the Kabul Small Animal Rescue, not dogs under our care.”
The animal rescue is a volunteer organization working to remove animals from the area.
The United States officially exited the country on Monday after a 20-year war, with President Joe Biden giving a speech Tuesday defending his handling of the removal of troops and others from the area.
The dog photos went viral after animal rights activists and also those critical of Biden, in general, took issue with them.
Source: Agencies
