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.

Illustragram is a project created by brazilian Bruno Alves. In his drawings he incorporates real objects that interact with the characters, the results are adorable.

A coil-shaped Helix Nebula showing a fine web of filamentary “bicycle-spoke” features embedded in the colorful red and blue ring of gas. At 650 light-years away, the Helix is one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth. A planetary nebula is the glowing gas around a dying, Sun-like star. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)

English singer-songwriter Tahliah Debrett Barnett, known professionally as FKA Twigs attends the NME Awards 2022 at O2 Academy Brixton on March 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

A model has her hair sprayed backstage at the Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 31, 2020. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Yanira Villarreal, left, Ayde Choque, center, and Milenda Limachi, wearings masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic and dressed as a “Cholita” pose for a photo with their skateboards during a youth talent show in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Young women called “Skates Imillas”, using the Aymara word for girl Imilla, use traditional Indigenous clothing as a statement of pride of their Indigenous culture while playing riding their skateboards. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

In this image released on October 2, Bella Hadid is seen backstage during Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 presented by Amazon Prime Video at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California; and broadcast on October 2, 2020. (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 Presented by Amazon Prime Video)

(L-R) Madelaine Petsch, Julia Fox, Kacey Musgraves, Kim Petras and Aquaria attend the Moschino Prefall 2020 Runway Show front row at New York Transit Museum on December 09, 2019 in Brooklyn City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Moschino)