An areal view of the lake in the form of a heart in Rodgau, near Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, May 24, 2024. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Lali carries balloons to sell on a beach in Mumbai, India, Sunday, October 11, 2015. The United Nations General Assembly marks October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

Relatives perform the last rites before the cremation of their loved one who died due to the Covid-19 coronavirus at a cremation ground in Allahabad on May 4, 2021. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

A girl carries her sibling as she walks through stranded flood water, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Nowshera, Pakistan on September 4, 2022. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

A specialist from a local veterinary service wears a protective suit as sprays disinfectant near Russian tanks displayed at area near Proryv (The Breakthrough) museum dedicated to the breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad during World WarII near Kirovsk, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) east of St.Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A Swiss police officer accompanies a migrant from Syria carrying her baby, upon her arrival at the railway station in the north-eastern Swiss town of Buchs September 1, 2015. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A performer wearing a face shield looks on during a ceremony held by the Bangkok National Museum to celebrate the return of two ancient relics, believed to have been stolen from Thailand about 60 years ago, from the United States, in Bangkok, Thailand on May 31, 2021. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/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.