An Iraqi soldier stands guard as a pipeline burns in the background after an explosion 30 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Tikrit, Iraq, Monday, February 11, 2008. (Photo by Bassem Daham/AP 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.

A North Korean war veteran is decorated with medals as he attends a parade to celebrate the anniversary of the Korean War armistice agreement, Sunday, July 27, 2014 in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreans gathered at Kim Il Sung Square as part of celebrations for the 61st anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

“Memoirs of a Geisha” – For its May 2013 cover story, Elle Vietnam gets inspired by the Japanese-influence of spring collections and Geisha beauty. Model Tian Yi evokes the theme perfectly in a series of images which juxtapose an urban backdrop with the ornate prints and sleek silhouettes of Prada, Dries van Noten, Dior, Thakoon and more selected by stylist Anna Katsanis. Photographer Oliver Stalmans captures the Chinese beauty in this elegant shoot. (Photo by Oliver Stalmans)

George R.R. Martin, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and other cast and crew of Game of Thrones have faced the winds of winter – or anyway, a bucket of ice water – with the popular charity challenge. HBO’s Game of Thrones gives fans chills in every episode. But as the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS research has exploded across the internet, the cast and crew of the shocking show gave themselves goosebumps as they stepped up to get soaked.

DJ Deadmau5 arrives at Spike TV's “2011 Video Game Awards” at Sony Studios on December 10, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

A little girl stands next to a painted buffalo during the “Buffalo Painting” contest that is part of the Tich Dien festival in Ha Nam province, Vietnam, 10 February 2019. Artists from all over the country have gathered for the festival which attracts thousand of residents and visitors. Tich Dien festival features the importance of agriculture and the role of farmers in the vietnamese society and contributes to preserving the local cultural values. (Photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA/EFE)

This picture taken on January 3, 2019 shows a Vietnamese woman collecting incense sticks in a courtyard in the village of Quang Phu Cau on the outskirts of Hanoi. In Vietnam's “incense village”, hundreds of workers are hard at work dying, drying and whittling down bamboo bark to make the fragrant sticks ahead of the busy lunar new year holiday. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)