Health authority workers sanitise the rural community of Teocelo, Veracruz, Mexico on May 12, 2020 – in the hope of preventing the spread of COVID-19 infections. (Photo by Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Some runners fall during the “El Pilon” running-the-bulls in the village of Falces, Navarra, northern Spain, 16 August 2022. “El Pilon” running-the-bulls is held on a hill where runners have to avoid the herd of cows on a 800 meter long and narrow slope with the mountain on one side and a steep cliff on the other. (Photo by Peio H/EPA/EFE)

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.

South Sudanese wrestlers take part in a wrestling match for peace in Juba on April 19, 2016. The last wrestling match for peace was held in Juba the day before civil war broke out in December 2013. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

A child stops by a large print at a photographic memorial for those killed in the confrontation between Ukraine's military and the pro-Russia separatist forces in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, February 23, 2022. Ukraine urged its citizens to leave Russia, and Europe braced for further confrontation Wednesday after tensions escalated dramatically when Russia's leader received authorization to use military force outside his country and the West responded with a raft of sanctions. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

Performers ride atop a car leading to the the National Circus Day celebration in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, September 4, 2021, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Chile's Culture Minister set the stage for the first circus performances with a ringside public since the beginning of the pandemic quarantine measures as the South American country looks to fully roll back almost all COVID-19 related restrictions. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)

Wendy Adriaens, owner of animal rescue farm “De Passiehoeve” and nicknamed the Ostrich Whisperer, poses for a photo with three-year-old male ostrich Flodder, in Kalmthout, Belgium, 25 July 2022. (Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A child is pictured with the face covered in blood during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon on August 19, 2021. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)