A Pasola rider reacts after throwing his spear during the Pasola war festival at Ratenggaro village on March 22, 2014 in Sumba Island, Indonesia. The Pasola Festival is an important annual event to welcome the new harvest season, which coincides with the arrival of “Nyale” sea worms during February or March each year. Pasola, an ancient ritual fighting game, involves two teams of men on horseback charging towards each other while trying to hit their rivals with “pasol” javelins and avoid being hit themselves. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Star Wars collector James Burns, 44, poses for a photograph with some of his collection in London December 2, 2015. He said “I've met so many wonderful people, all over the world. It's a wonderful community of likeminded people with an interest in Star Wars. There's nothing else like it”. (Photo by Paul Hackett/Reuters)

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.

A suspected street robber is arrested by a policeman after a brief chase in the streets, June 20, 2016, in Manila, Philippines. The president-elect of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, declared a war on crime and drugs after sweeping an election on May 9 and has been living up to his nickname, “the punisher”. Philippine police have been conducting night raids almost on a daily basis and revived a curfew for minors that had not been enforced for years, rounding up minors drinking on the streets. (Photo by Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images)

Reem Fawzy (L), the director of the Pink Taxi company, stands with her drivers in a parking lot in Cairo, Egypt, September 6, 2015. Pink uniforms, a pink logo on the cars, and even pink nail polish – it's all part of the look of women-drivers working for Egypt's first women-only taxi service. The Pink Taxi company hires only women drivers and gives rides to only female passengers. The company was started in an effort to provide a safe taxi service for women in a country with high rates of sexual harassment, said Reem Fawzy, the director of the company. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

A woman attends a boxing class at Princess Women's Boxing Club in Shanghai December 3, 2014. Women have boxed as long as the sport has existed but for years they were relegated out of national and international competitions in many countries around the world. Female boxers entered the ring in an exhibition match at the 1904 Olympic Games, but it was more than a century later when they were given the green light to make their Olympic debut in London in 2012. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Participant rides a carousel at the women's-only Petrolettes motorcycle festival on July 21, 2018 in Milmersdorf, near Berlin in Germany. Around 300 bike women from across Europe come together for the third edition of the festival. Women connect their passion for high speed motorbikes with music, movies, races, yoga etc. Festival that goes for three days was initiated by a group of female motorbike riders called The Curves. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Players of the USA celebrate in the dressing room following their team's victory in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Final match between The United States of America and The Netherlands at Stade de Lyon on July 07, 2019 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Maddie Meyer – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)