A woman poses for a photo at Hitchin Lavender farm in Ickleford, Britain, August 4, 2020. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

Artists and dancers perform dances during the Qhapaq Raymi (summer solstice) Festival in Cusco, Peru on December 21, 2022. Cusco is one of the most touristic cities in Peru and tries to return to normality, after two weeks of intense demonstrations in the country that left a balance of 26 deaths nationwide. (Photo by Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Britney Spears supporter Phoebe Price and her dog Henry take pictures next to a “Free Britney” Christmas tree set by fans outside a hearing concerning the pop singer's conservatorship at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Friday, November 12, 2021, in Los Angeles. A Los Angeles judge ended the conservatorship that has controlled Spears' life and money for nearly 14 years. (Photo by Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)

Storks that were saved by Bulgarian farmer Safet Ismail are pictured in the village of Zaritsa, Bulgaria, March 21, 2018. Dozens of people from villages in north-eastern Bulgaria took storks to their houses as a lot of the birds got injured due to freezing temperatures and snowfalls in the area over the last few days. (Photo by Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

A man carrying vegetables is stopped by police at a barricade on a road during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Chennai, India, March 25, 2020. (Photo by P. Ravikumar/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.

Breitling Wingwalker Freya Paterson, from Liverpool, UK, flies above Kuwait City's iconic Water Towers with pilots David Barrell and Martyn Carrington, on March 6, 2014. The team loop and roll up to 160 mph enduring G-forces of 4-5g. Crowds are expected to line the Kuwaiti coastline to catch a glimpse of the Wingwalking team on Saturday, March 8, 2014, to mark the opening of the first dedicated boutique in the city for the prestigious watch brand. (Photo by Katsuhiko Tokunaga/Breitling)

Revellers dressed in mock military garb take part in “Els Enfarinats” food-battle in the southeastern Spanish town of Ibi on December 28, 2022. (Photo by Jaime Reina/AFP Photo)