Rob Maitland of Australia collects a ball from the ocean during warm-up for the Water Polo by the Sea match between Australia and the United States of America at at Bondi Icebergs on Bondi Beach on January 4, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Two F-15E Strike Eagles wait to receive fuel from a KC-135R Stratotanker during exercise Red Flag 15-1 on their way to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jauary 23, 2015. The F-15s are assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing. U.S. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron J. Jenne/Reuters)

A rescued malnourished sea lion is manually fed a fish at Sea World in San Diego, California March 17, 2015. Animal rescue centers in California are being inundated with stranded, starving sea lion pups, raising the possibility that the facilities could soon be overwhelmed, the federal agency coordinating the rescue said. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/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.

Girl in newari attire makes a funny face to her friend as she performs a Mass Bel Bibaha (marriage) ceremony in Bhaktapur, Bagmati, Nepal on December 7, 2021. The two-day ceremony, usually held several times a year, sees pre-adolescent “marry” the Hindu deity, Vishnu, symbolised by the local “bael” (wood apple) fruit. Normally Newar girls marry thrice time in there life as first marriage with Bael fruit, second with sun and third with human. (Photo by Amit Machamasi/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News)

A stray dog is pictured besides a graffiti made on a shutter of a closed shop at a market area during an ongoing state-wide weekend curfew imposed by the directive of the Delhi government to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in New Delhi on January 9, 2022. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

A girl carries breads on her head as she walks in the snow, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, February 8, 2022. (Photo by Hussein Malla/AP Photo)

An artist (R) gives finishing touches to a New Year mural painted on his house in Chennai on December 29, 2022. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)