Artillerymen of the Ukrainian 80th separate airborne assault brigade fire from a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, on April 18, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/AFP Photo)

Wax figures, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Donald Trump and Taylor Swift, in the entrance line at Madame Tussaud's in London on July 30, 2020, as the attraction prepares to reopen to the public following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England. (Photo by Kirsty O'Connor/PA Images via Getty Images)

Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

Cooked and coloured eggs travel along the production line at the Schrall coloured eggs company in the Austrian Village of Diendorf March 16, 2015. Schrall is one of Austria's biggest Easter and coloured eggs producers and makes between eight and 10 million coloured eggs throughout year. (Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

A serviceman of the 148th Separate Artillery Zhytomyr Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sits near shells as he and a soldier await command to fire a M777 Howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on February 8, 2025. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters)

Carol Sofia Sanchez strikes a pose in her Shakira-inspired costume as she waits in line for the doors to open at Metropolitano Stadium, where pop star Shakira will perform in her hometown of Barranquilla in Colombia, Thursday, February 20, 2025. (Photo by Fernando Vergara/AP Photo)

Belgian Fran Vanhoutte celebrates as she crosses the finish line at the finals of the women's 500m +D speed skating event, at the World Games 2025, in Chenghdu, China, on Thursday 14 August 2025. This year, the World Games take place from 7 to 17 August. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Kenya's Reynold Cheruiyot (centre L) and Britain's athlete Jake Wightman fall after crossing the finish line in the men's 1500m final during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 17, 2025. (Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP Photo)