Army's assault dog Axel: A brief profile of real hero who died in action

Indian Army's elite assault dog Axel was killed in action last week after being hit by bullets fired by a terrorist during a gunfight at Wanigam Bala in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Saturday.

Here is a brief profile of the real hero:
Axel was born on June 26, 2020. He joined the Indian Army 26 Army Dog Unit in December 2021, and was trained to charge and neutralise the enemy on seeing a weapon. He was also trained to carry a back-mounted camera.

A video paying tribute to Axel has gone viral on social media. The clip was shared by Major (Retd) Surendra Poonia. The video has already been viewed 55,000 times and has garnered over 5000 likes.



Trained dogs in the defence forces undergo rigorous commando-style training before joining action.

Two-year-old Axel, a German Shepherd attached to the 26 Army Dog Unit was killed after it was hit by a terrorist's bullets while being deployed in a counter-terrorist operation with 29 Rashtriya Rifles unit.

Before being hit by bullets, Axel pinpointed the location of a holed-up terrorist and thereby protected a mosque in the vicinity.