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 woman rides a donkey during a donkey race in Roum village, Jizeen countryside, southern Lebanon, August 9, 2015. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)

Former top models Carla Bruni (L), Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen display iconic creations of late Italian designer Gianni Versace's during the Versace Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2017. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

A Pakistani scavenger girl writes on a notebook she collected from a garbage, while another girl sits next to her in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, April 1, 2015. Thousands of children pick recyclable items from waste dumping points to earn living for their poor families. (Photo by K. M. Chaudary/AP Photo)

Street vendors hold campaign posters for presidential candidate Patrice Talon ahead of the second round of Benin's presidential election on Sunday in Cotonou, Benin, March 18, 2016. (Photo by Charles Placide Tossou/Reuters)

In this Monday, October 8, 2018 photo, Colombia's BMX freestyle athlete Sebastian Martinez practices at the Urban Park, at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Ian Walton/OIS/IOC via AP Photo)

A Syrian boy looks through a gate as others wait to cross into Syria at Oncupinar border crossing in the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey February 11, 2016.. (Photo by Osman Orsal/Reuters)

Filipino boys play basketball at an improvised court hooked on multi-layered tombs at a public cemetery in Navotas, north of Manila, Philippines on Thursday Oct. 31, 2013. Filipinos are expected to flock to cemeteries on November 1 to remember their dead as they observe All Saints Day in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)