Girls accompany grooms as they sit separate from the brides during a mass wedding for 150 couples in Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip July 20, 2015. The wedding was funded by al-Basheer Society for Relief and Development. (Photo by Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

Apollo 9 Command/Service Modules (CSM) nicknamed “Gumdrop” and Lunar Module (LM), nicknamed “Spider” are shown docked together as Command Module pilot David R. Scott stands in the open hatch. Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart, Lunar Module pilot, took this photograph of Scott during his EVA as he stood on the porch outside the Lunar Module. Apollo 9 was an Earth orbital mission designed to test docking procedures between the CSM and LM as well as test fly the Lunar Module in the relative safe confines of Earth orbit. (Photo by NASA)

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 boy rides on a snow wagon towed by a robot dressed as a Teddy bear, which only moves forward by moving its legs, during the Ice and snow carnival at Taoranting park in Beijing February 9, 2015. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Chippi, 22, from Senegal sits on someone’s shoulder shirtless participating in a large snow ball fight in Washington Square Park on January 29, 2022 in New York City. According to the National Weather Service New York City is expected to receive between 8-12 inches of snow and 40 to 45 mph wind gusts during the first major Nor’Easter storm of the season. New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that there is a 24 hour a State of Emergency in effect. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

A security personnel keeps watch before the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on March 8, 2022. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

San Antonio FC goalkeeper Jordan Farr (1) flips in the air as he celebrates the team's overtime win against Austin FC in an MLS U.S. Open soccer match, Wednesday, April 20, 2022, in San Antonio. (Photo by Eric Gay/AP Photo)

Cambodia's Pov Sokha and Soeur Chanleakhena compete in the female pair sword form category of the vovinam event during the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Hanoi on May 19, 2022. (Photo by Nhac Nguyen/AFP Photo)