Residents watch volcanic smoking and ashes rising from Mount Sinabung during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, February 24, 2016. Authorities have repeatedly called on local residents to remain patient in dealing with the impact of Sinabung's eruptions, which some experts have predicted will continue for five more years. (Photo by Xinhua/Barcroft Media)

An Afghan boy jumps off the turret of a Soviet tank on a hilltop on the the outskirts of Kabul, Sunday, March, 4, 2018. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

Animal rights activists protest against the use of animal leather in fashion businness, a few days before the fashion week opening in Milan, Italy, 16 September 2018. (Photo by Matteo Bazzi/EPA/EFE)

A military cadet gets help from a colleague to adjust her hair before taking part the military parade in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, December 1, 2018, as thousands turned out Saturday to celebrate 100-years since Romania became a modern-day state, amid concerns about rule of law and the state of democracy. Crowds braved temperatures of minus 5 Celsius (23 Fahrenheit) to watch the military parade of troops, tanks and military vehicles. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

A photo taken from the International Space Station shows Hurricane Lane in the early morning hours near Hawaii, August 22, 2018. (Photo by Courtesy @astro_ricky/NASA/Handout via Reuters)

A girl walks an Akita-inu dog dressed in a military uniform in Vladivostok, Russia on April 9, 2019. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

Kite-surfers practice in a water reservoir at the shores of the Mediterranean sea close to the southern Israeli kibbutz of Ziqim during stormy weather, on December 20, 2021. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

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.