An Israeli soldier waits at the bus station, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel on August 15, 2024. (Photo by Florion Goga/Reuters)

The American skier Lindsey Vonn celebrates winning the women’s downhill race in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup on December 12, 2025. She is joined on the podium by Moritz, the competition’s official mascot, named after the Swiss resort in which it is held. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

The 26th annual Visa Pour l’Image, the “Cannes Film Festival” of photojournalism kicks off, filling the French city of Perpignan with more than 3,000 of the world’s best photojournalists and photo editors, along with agencies from around the world. This year’s Visa Pour l’Image showcases 26 exhibitions around the city. Photo: Christians looting a Muslim shop in the “Combattants” district of Bangui. (Photo by Pierre Terdjman/Paris Match)

Female Chimpanzee “Fifi” eats carrots as she sits in her enclosure at Taronga Zoo on her 60th birthday May 21, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. Fifi is the oldest of the Zoo's chimp population, which consists of 19 individuals. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

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.

October 25, 2009; London,UK; The mascot for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches a cheerleader during the NFL International Series game against the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium. (Photo by David Wilkinson/Offside Sports)

Offset and Cardi B are seen on July 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

In this Thursday, October 3, 2019 photo, a female black bear sleeps with its tongue out high up in a Ponderosa pine tree near Clark Fork School in the Rattlesnake neighborhood of Missoula, Mont. The bear's cub, not pictured, was snoozing on a nearby branch. (Photo by Tommy Martino/The Missoulian via AP Photo)