A guest arrives before the Blumarine show during Milan Fashion Week Spring 2019 in Milan, Italy, September 21, 2018. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

Demonstrators are assisted by members of Brigada Marabunta during a protest to mark International Women's Day, in Mexico City, Mexico on March 8, 2023. (Photo by Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/Reuters)

Police and the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) servicemen patrol Red Square in front of the Spasskaya tower of the Kremlin in Moscow on October 24, 2022, as part of security reinforcement measures. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/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.

Samurai commiting seppuku (hara-kiri) in Japan, circa 1880. (Photo by adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images)

A supporter welcomes US army convoy as it enters Czech Republic in Harrachov, Sunday, March 29, 2015. The “Dragoon Ride” convoy started last week from Estonia and passed through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland before entering the Czech Republic on a return journey to a German base. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he attends a flight training session by female fighter pilots Jo Kum Hyang and Rim Sol in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 22, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/KCNA/Antara Foto)

People are seen in the crowd as Serbian Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra performs during the third day of the Mexican musicial festival Vive Latino, at the Foro Sol in Mexico City, on March 29, 2014. (Photo by Alfredo Estrella/AFP Photo)