Hero police dog blown up by suicide bomber during terrorists’ last stand: French police honour Diesel the Belgian Shepherd who ‘died to defend our colours’

An anti-terror police dog has died after being blown up by a suicide bomber during a firefight with suspected ISIS militants behind the Paris massacre.

The seven-year-old Belgian Shepherd named Diesel was killed this morning during a police raid on a flat in the French capital where the terrorists were believed to have been holed up. 

The gunfight started at 4.30am when SWAT teams and special forces surrounded the building believing the architect of the massacres that killed 129 people, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was inside. It is not known if he is dead or alive. 

Survivors of the Bataclan massacre where 89 people died insisted there was a female shooter.

Tributes quickly poured in to the canine who had been decorated with service medals after a distinguished career in the force. One police handler said it was ‘a little like losing one of our colleagues’ while a Twitter user said Diesel had ‘died to defend our colours’