Volunteers wearing face masks, gloves and protective gear to protect against coronavirus, gather to clean an area of an outdoor book market set up at Red Square with GUM, State Department store, left, St. Basil's Cathedral, center, Spasskaya Tower, second with, and the Kremlin Wall, right, in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 6, 2020. Muscovites clad in face masks and gloves ventured into Red Square for an outdoor book market, a small sign of the Russian capital's gradual efforts to open up amid coronavirus concerns. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

A view of migrants on the beach at sunrise after a fail attempt to cross the Channel to the UK on a small boat, in Sangatte, near Calais, France on August 10, 2023. (Photo by Pascal Rossignol/Reuters)

A staff carries a flower bouquet for a winner during the award ceremony at the 19th Asian Games at Ningbo Xiangshan Sailing Center in Ningbo, China, Wednesday, September 27, 2023. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

Jury member Nicole Kidman attends the Jury Press Conference. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

An anti-lockdown activist dressed as Father Christmas is arrested in Grosvenor Square during a demonstration in London, England, on November 28, 2020. London is to return to “Tier 2” or “high alert” covid-19 restrictions once the current England-wide coronavirus lockdown ends next Wednesday. All three of the tiers, assigned to local authorities across England, have been strengthened since the lockdown began on November 5, however, with the main impacts to be felt by the hospitality sector. (Photo by Mark Thomas/i-Images)

A model presents a creation by LARHHA during the Code'41 Andalusian Fashion Week at the Amphitheatre of Italica in Seville on March 21, 2021. (Photo by Cristina Quicler/AFP Photo)

The attendants of the Sumptha Raja, Agra Durbar. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1873

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.