A demonstrator skateboards in front of a burning police vehicle during a protest against a new proposed policing bill, in Bristol, Britain, March 21, 2021. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would give forces in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non- violent protests, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance, with fines or jail for those convicted. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

Flashmob: Water Battle on All-Russian Exhibition Center in Moscow, Russia, on August 5, 2012. (Photo by Lilja Dal)

Bangladeshi people climb into the roof of an overcrowded train as they travel to celebrate Eid with family in their villages, at the Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03 June 2019. Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr is one of the two major holidays in Islam. (Photo by Monirul Alam/EPA/EFE)

Seiichiro Nishimoto, CEO of Shelter Co., poses wearing a gas mask at a model room for the company's nuclear shelters in the basement of his house in Osaka, Japan on April 26, 2017. With nearby North Korea increasing its show of power day by day with missile launches and nuclear tests, people in Japan are preparing for the worst by building private nuclear shelters, Reuters reports. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/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.

An Indian soldier from the international peace keeping force (IPKF) instructs young Sri Lankan recruits in shooting, part of the training given to the citizen's volunteer force in the North-Eastern Sri Lankan city of Batticaloa, September 28, 1989. (Photo by Barbara Walton/AP Photo)

U.S. Capitol Police with guns drawn stand near a barricaded door as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, in Washington. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

(From L) US musician Jon Batiste, US musician Trent Reznor and English musician Atticus Ross, winners of the award for Original Score for “Soul”, pose in the press room at the Oscars on April 25, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Pool via AFP Photo)