The Pentagon has rejected claims that it abandoned military dogs as US forces pulled out of Afghanistan.
Politicians, animal lovers and conservative activists raised the alarm after viral images appeared to show animals in cages left behind at Kabul.
But a spokesman for the defence department said: “To correct erroneous reports, the US military did not leave any dogs in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport, to include the reported ‘military working dogs’.”
An animal welfare group has been working to evacuate animals on the ground in Kabul, which are believed to have been left by Afghans attempting to flee the country.
