Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fire a shell at Islamic State fighters' positions in Sirte, Libya August 15, 2016. (Photo by Ismail Zitouny/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.

In this October 7, 2018 photo waitress dance in the Hofbraeu tent after the closing of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, southern Germany, which ran from September 22 through October 7, 2018. (Photo by Felix Hoerhager/AP Photo)

A climate change activist plays a violin in Times Square as Manhattan is shrouded in haze and smoke which drifted south from wildfires in Canada, in New York City, New York, U.S., June 7, 2023. (Photo by Maye-E Wong/Reuters)

Members of the cast of Beowulf by Proper Job Theatre pose in costume ahead of their Viking procession through the streets of Kirklees, West Yorkshire in the first decade of November 2023, as part of Kirklees Year of Music 2023. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times)

Bronze medallist Norway's Line Flem Hoest jumps into the water as she celebrates at the end of the women's ILCA 6 single-handed dinghy medal race during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games sailing competition at the Roucas-Blanc Marina in Marseille on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

Police officers control the crowd (rear) while surrounding a man (front C) suspected to be involved in opening fire on a beachside hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, as a woman reacts (R), June 26, 2015. At least 27 people, including foreign tourists, were killed when at least one gunman opened fire on a Tunisian beachside hotel in the popular resort of Sousse on Friday, an interior ministry spokesman said. Police were still clearing the area around the Imperial Marhaba hotel and the body of one gunman lay at the scene with a Kalashnikov assault rifle after he was shot in an exchange of gunfire, a security source at the scene said. (Photo by Amine Ben Aziza/Reuters)

People take pictures of huge waves crash on the Viavelez seafront in the northern Spanish region of Asturias January 2, 2016. (Photo by Eloy Alonso/Reuters)