US military did not abandon dogs at Kabul airport: Pentagon

Animal rights group PETA also raised the issues and urged the Joe Biden administration to “get abandoned working dogs & other animals—and their caretakers—out of Afghanistan.” (Image: PETA)

The Pentagon has denied the reports of US military personnel abandoning some of their dogs at Kabul airport during the withdrawal of its last troops from Afghanistan.

"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," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby tweeted on August 31.

The tweet came after a photograph started circulating on social media showing dogs inside cages on Kabul airport.

Photographs posted on social media showed dogs in an Afghan animal shelter and not animals under the responsibility of the US military, Kirby added on Twitter.

To correct erroneous reports, the U.S. Military did not leave any dogs in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport, including the reported military working dogs. Photos circulating online were animals under the care of the Kabul Small Animal Rescue, not dogs under our care.

— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 31, 2021

Animal rights group PETA also raised the issues and urged the Joe Biden administration to “get abandoned working dogs & other animals—and their caretakers—out of Afghanistan.”

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“According to reports that we’re constantly striving to verify and update, dozens of US military working dogs, numerous animal companions belonging to evacuated Americans, and more than 100 dogs previously rescued from the streets of Afghanistan along with an unknown number of rescued cats and the humans caring for these animals were left behind in Afghanistan after the last US plane left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul,” the group noted in a statement.

The @JoeBiden Administration must get abandoned working dogs & other animals—& their caretakers—out of Afghanistan.

Join PETA in urging @POTUS to evacuate the dogs & cats, & their caretakers, who were left behind! https://t.co/itzc5jZa7g #NoPawsLeftBehind pic.twitter.com/mTrnQLvlXF

— PETA (@peta) August 31, 2021

“Join PETA in urging @POTUS  to evacuate the dogs & cats, & their caretakers, who were left behind!” it added.

The United States pulled its final troops out of Afghanistan on August 30, ending America's longest war just ahead of the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks that prompted the US-led invasion.