A boy shoots a World War II machine gun armed with blanks at an weapon exhibition during a military show near Kirovsk, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, January 21, 2018. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Newlyweds pose on a zebra crossing for wedding photographers during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Samara, Russia, Sunday, July 8, 2018. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

The Soyuz TMA-11M capsule with the International Space Station (ISS) crew members Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and U.S. astronaut Rick Mastracchio lands south-east of the town of Dzhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan, May 14, 2014. The first Japanese to command a space mission and crewmates from the United States and Russia landed safely in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, wrapping up a 188-day stay aboard the International Space Station. (Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky/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.

A reveler jumps from a fountain onto the crowd below, after the launch of the “Chupinazo” rocket, to celebrate the official opening of the 2014 San Fermin fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2014. Revelers from around the world turned out here to kick off the festival with a messy party in the Pamplona town square, one day before the first of eight days of the running of the bulls glorified by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises”. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)

Old Heidelberg, Dog with Pipe, 1905. (Photo by Detroit Publishing Company)

The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was fought between Georgian government forces for the most part, and Abkhaz separatist forces, Russian armed forces and North Caucasian militants. Ethnic Georgians who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces. Ethnic Armenians and Russians within Abkhazia's population largely supported the Abkhazians, and many fought on their side. The separatists received support from thousands of North Caucasus and Cossack militants and from the Russian Federation forces stationed in and near Abkhazia. Here: Abkhazia. Sukhumi, 1993. A house-to-house combat. (Photo by Andrei Solovyov/ITAR-TASS)