Tourists walk as others relax on the beach in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egypt, July 17, 2017. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Scuba divers during an ice diving class at the Sea Frogs scuba diving center in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on January 30, 2022. The air temperature is –11°C (12.2°F), the water temperature is –2°C (28.4°F). Scuba divers undergo theoretical and practical training in ice diving and perform dives in the open water during the day and the night time as part of the Ice Diver NDL special program. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

Dancers perform during the annual Tartan Day Parade along Sixth Avenue on April 15, 2023 in New York City. Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, the New York City Tartan Day Parade featured many Scottish clans, Pipers, Dancers and Scottish dogs. (Photo by Andrew Schwartz/SIPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.

North Korean youngsters sing and play accordions to entertain foreign visitors including United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, who visited Pyongyang, May 4, 1979. Visitors report music education in North Korea begins at an early age and is taken seriously by children and adults. (Photo by Peter Arnett/AP Photo)

A female soldier takes part in a training for women at the Tolemaida Military Air Base in Tolemaida, Colombia, on May 16, 2023. The last time the Colombian Army enlisted women in their ranks was in 1993. Now, 30 years on, more than 1,200 women voluntarily joined the military service in the country. (Photo by Raúl Arboleda/AFP Photo)

People carry their pets before the start of a pet blessing at Greenhills shopping mall in Manila October 3, 2015. Pets were blessed on Saturday in a celebration honouring the patron saint of animals Saint Francis of Assisi. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

A woman greets a street artist at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain July 8, 2016. (Photo by Eloy Alonso/Reuters)