Sabera Bayanne, 20, a student of the Shaolin Wushu club, practices in Kabul, Afghanistan January 29, 2017. On a snowy mountaintop to the west of Kabul, a group of Afghan girls practise the flowing movements of Wushu, a sport developed from ancient Chinese kung fu martial arts, stretching and bending and slashing the air with bright swords. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

“Left behind” children Luo Hongni, 11 (L) and brother Luo Gan,10, carry flowers to be used as feed while doing chores in the fields on December 18, 2016 in Anshun, China. Like millions of Chinese children, the four Luo siblings are being raised by their grandparents in rural China as their parents left to find work in urban areas. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Jordanian soldiers pose after the opening ceremony of eighth annual Warrior Competition at the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Center (KASOTC) in Amman, Jordan, May 2, 2016. Twenty Seven Teams from Eleven countries are participating in a competition to test their military skills. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/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.

Members of the Oath Keepers and general public return fire during a simulated attack as they take part in a tactical training session in northern Idaho, U.S. October 1, 2016. In April 2015 Reuters photographer Jim Urquhart was assigned to cover the Oath Keepers during a tour of the Sugar Pine gold mine in Oregon after the group of former cops, military, firefighters and other first responders had risen to prominence during a standoff in Nevada over land rights. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

Mikhail Baburin, 66, talks to his cat Marquis at his house in the remote Siberian village of Mikhailovka, Krasnoyarsk region, Russia, December 5, 2016. Baburin, a former Navy man, barge worker and employee of a military plant in Krasnoyarsk, is the last inhabitant of Mikhailovka, which was founded in the 19th century by migrants from Russia's Mordovia region. He moved in 2000 to Mikhailovka where he was born and has lived there all alone for the last 10 years with only domestic animals. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Flowers are placed on a “comfort woman” statue during the weekly Wednesday protest in front of Japanese embassy demanding for an apology and compensation from Japanese government in Seoul, South Korea, July 22, 2015. “Comfort women” is the Japanese euphemism for women who were forced into prostitution and sexually abused at Japanese military brothels before and during World War Two. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Female North Korean soldiers patrol along the banks of Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, April 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States were on high alert for a North Korean missile launch on Thursday as the hermit kingdom turned its attention to celebrating its ruling Kim dynasty and appeared to tone down rhetoric of impending war. (Photo by Jacky Chen/Reuters)

P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews)