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.

Fans gather to watch a FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 football match between Brazil and Costa Rica on a giant screen at Alzirao neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Carl De Souza/AFP Photo)

A guest poses against a video installation displayed at the Moncler catwalk show during Milan Fashion Week Spring 2019 in Milan, Italy, September 19, 2018. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

A woman overcome by emotion after an aftershock hit the area, is carried by a relative to the general hospital in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, Sunday, October 7, 2018. A magnitude 5.2 aftershock struck Haiti on Sunday, even as survivors of the previous day's temblor were sifting through the rubble of their cinderblock homes. The death toll stood at 12, with fears it could rise. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

A businessman walks past an empty baby Tyrannosaurus rex costume near Faneuil Hall in Boston, Thursday, May 17, 2018. An actor left the costume on the sidewalk as he went to retrieve his parked car, after entertaining midday tourists. (Photo by Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

French actress Marie Cornillon wearing body paint and a headgear with bull horns, poses in front of the Nimes arena with a sign inscribed “Abolissons la corrida” (Abolish corrida bullfighting) as part of a protest by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) animal rights group to ban bullfighting in France, on November 16, 2022. (Photo by Pascal Guyot/AFP Photo)

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)

Couples kiss during a kissing contest in Wuhan, Hubei province, November 23, 2014. Some 20 couples attended the contest and the winners have been awarded an iPhone 6, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)