Army assault dog ‘Zoom’, who helped eliminate militants, dies

New Delhi, October 13

Army’s assault dog ‘Zoom’, who sustained gunshot wounds earlier this week while battling terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, succumbed to injuries on Thursday, said officials from the Srinagar-based 15 Corps.

Took 2 bullets in Anantnag encounter

• Army’s assault dog Zoom was trained to locate, bring down terrorists
• The Belgian Shepherd sustained 2 gunshot wounds during an encounter in Anantnag
• Another dog, Axel, had died in a counter-terror op on June 30

The two-year-old Belgian Shepherd, also known as Malinois, was active in the service for the last eight months. The canine was known to be ferocious, committed and highly trained to locate and bring down terrorists.

The officials said Zoom was under treatment at the Advance Field Veterinary Hospital in Srinagar, but succumbed around noon. “Zoom’s condition was improving and the canine was responding well to the treatment. The dog looked fine till noon after which it suddenly started gasping and soon collapsed,” the officials said.

It was on October 10 that security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Tangpawa following inputs about the presence of terrorists. As was the norm, Zoom was tasked to clear the house where the terrorists were hiding. “Zoom identified and attacked the terrorists, but received two gunshots…. The canine kept on fighting and performing its task, which resulted in the killing of two Lashkar terrorists,” the officials said. The terrorists had taken refuge in the house of a civilian.

Zoom was trained to retrieve the weapons from terrorists hiding in buildings. The dog is learnt to have approached the target stealthily and pounced upon the terrorists. “Zoom was fired upon by the terrorists in hiding, injuring it seriously. However, the dog was successful in destabilising the terrorists, who were then effectively neutralised through precision fire,” the Army had said on the day of the operation.

On June 30, another Army dog, Axel, had died in a counter-terrorism operation in Kashmir. Like Zoom, the two-year-old Axel, also a Belgian Shepherd, was deputed for an ‘intervention task’–to locate a terrorist inside a building. On August 15, Axel was awarded a gallantry award, ‘Mentioned in despatches’, for “resolute courage by rushing towards the building entrance while exposing itself to the terrorist’s fire”.