A dog said to belong to British Special Forces has become an unlikely prisoner of the Taliban.
Footage posted online shows bearded gunmen parading the unfortunate animal as a trophy after it was taken during a failed Nato raid in Afghanistan.
The subdued dog, reportedly named Colonel, is seen wearing a specially adapted flak jacket as he is held on a chain by one of the fighters.
He is understood to be attached to an elite unit, believed to be either the Special Air Service or its naval counterpart, the Special Boat Service.
The jacket also contained a torch and video camera, which are often fitted in order to capture reconnaissance material as the animals move around on a battlefield.
Dogs have been deployed by the British Army since the First World War, when they were used to carry messages.
Some 11,000 canines work in the UK's Armed Forces, sniffing out drugs, helping with search and rescue, and searching suspicious buildings before soldiers enter.
Their sense of smell is 40 times better than a soldier's, meaning they scent enemies up to two miles away. In the short clip posted by the Taliban's 'cultural arm', fighters say the dog strayed into enemy territory during a Nato raid in eastern Laghman province in December.
They also brandish weapons allegedly seized at the time, including two assault rifles similar to those used by US special forces and a number of hand grenades.
A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force confirmed that an animal went missing during a raid in December.
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