Wounded people walk after clashes with riot police in central Kiev February 18, 2014. Ukrainian riot police advanced on the heart of 12-week-old protests against President Viktor Yanukovich on Tuesday and security forces set a deadline to end disturbances after at least five protesters were reported killed in a day of clashes. (Photo by Vlad Sode/Reuters)

“The Greek Civil War was fought from 1945 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece (ΔΣΕ) (Greek initials DSE), the military branch of the Greek Communist Party (KKE), backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania. It was the result of a highly polarized struggle between leftists and rightists which started in 1943 and targeted the power vacuum that the German-Italian occupation during World War II had created. One of the first conflicts of the Cold War, according to some analysts it represents the first example of a postwar Western interference in the internal politics of a foreign country, and for others, marked the first serious test of the theory of the so-called Churchill-Stalin percentages agreement. The first signs of the civil war occurred in 1942–1944, during the Occupation”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A Greek commando soldier, wearing a fur-collared jacket supplied by the Americans, waits for a guerrilla target to emerge during the Greek Civil War. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Getty Images). 22nd May 1948

Afghan children wait as their mothers receive treatment at a USAID-funded health center on September 7, 2011 in Farza, Afghanistan. Almost 10 years after the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. government funds some of 500 Afghan health facilities nationwide, most run by non-governmental organizations contracted by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

An archer in a samurai warrior costume aims at a target in the Asakusa Yabusame horseback archery event at Sumida Park in Tokyo, Saturday, April 18, 2015. (Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Photo)

A Nepalese Hindu devotee bathes in the Bagmati River on her way to the Pashupatinath Temple to offer prayers to Lord Shiva, Hindu god of destruction during Shravan festivities in Sundarijal, on the outskirts of Kathmandu on August 3, 2015. According to the Nepali calendar, Shravan is considered the holiest month of the year with each Monday of the month known as Shravan Somvar when worshippers offer prayers for a happy and prosperous life. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Dancers wearing masks and kimonos perform in the streets at the “Super Yosakoi 2015” dance festival in Tokyo on August 30, 2015. One hundred dance teams with some 5,500 people participated in the two-day summer festival event. (Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP Photo)

A woman photographs a Norwegian spruce Christmas tree from Oslo after it was lit at Trafalgar Square in central London, December 4, 2014. (Photo by Toby Melville/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.