Dancers pose for a photo as they prepare during Festival Cilung or “Love the Environment” Festival, where boats made from recycled materials, mostly plastic bottles, sail on the Ciliwung River, one of the most polluted rivers in the world, to raise public awareness about river pollution, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 28, 2025. (Photo by Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)

Children play marbles on the dirt in Garut, West Java, Indonesia on October 17, 2025. This traditional game, which was popular in the 1980s, is now rarely played by children due to the increasing popularity of modern games with advanced technology. According to a survey by the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), more than 71.3% of school-age children own gadgets and play them for a considerable amount of time each day, and as many as 79% of child respondents are allowed to play gadgets for purposes other than learning. (Photo by Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Disabled dogs outfitted with wheelchairs walk at an animal rescue center on July 12, 2008 in Chengdu of Sichuan Province, China. The center has adopted over 100 stray dogs and cats from quake-struck areas. Those who were hurt or disabled are outfitted with a cart to help support they're body and make them mobile. (Photo by China Photos/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.

Buddhist monks pray at Borobudur temple on Vesak Day, commonly known as “Buddha's birthday”, at the Borobudur Mahayana Buddhist monument on May 17, 2011 in Magelang, Indonesia. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Sukaregang in Garut district, West Java, has long been a bustling center for Indonesia's leather trade, with some shops producing and selling various goods – including bags, shoes and jackets – since the 1940s. The industrial area is also a major supplier for high-end brands from across the globe, catering to the fashion, auto and motor-sports industry. Here: a man walks across a vat of water used to wash the hide. (Photo by Rezza Estily/JG Photo)

A man assist trucks carry palm oil fruit on a damaged road at Mesuji Raya village in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, January 11, 2017. (Photo by Budi Candra Setya/Reuters/Antara Foto)