Morgan Miller carries her one-year-old daughter Mia Jennings in one arm as she shovels the stairs to her Springfield home with the other Sunday, January 13, 2019. Miller said she's learned how to do a lot of things while holding a baby in the last year. (Photo by Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register via AP Photo)

Children react after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad near the Syrian Arab Red Crescent center in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus May 6, 2015. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

Victor Peralta from Uruguay gestures during the fourth International Tattoo Convention in Quito, September 25, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Granja/Reuters)

A dog wears fake eyes while riding a motorcycle in Samut Sakhon, Thailand June 23, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A dressed up Oakland Raiders fan poses for photos as she arrives at Azteca stadium in Mexico City, Monday, November 21, 2016. The Oakland Raiders face the Houston Texans at a sold out Azteca stadium. (Photo by Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo)

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.

Participants with traditional Japanese tattoos (Irezumi), related to the Yakuza, walk through the Asakusa district during the annual Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo on May 20, 2018. Sanja Matsuri festival is a celebration for the three founders of Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa neighbourhood with nearly two million people visiting during the three-day event. (Photo by Behrouz Mehri/AFP Photo)

A man drives a modified boat “Jetcar” in the bay in Miami, Florida, on October 4, 2023. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP Photo)