Bradie, a corgi, competes in the dock dive competition during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

Rapper Destiny Nicole Frasqueri, known professionally as Princess Nokia performs during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, U.S., April 22, 2022. (Photo by Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters)

Palestinian mother Esma Zuhd cries after her children, Jahan and Ahmed Nasser who died after an Israeli attack at the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza on December 29, 2023. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Actress Lindsay Lohan and DJ Samantha Ronson attend the Charlotte Ronson Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Promenade in Bryant Park on September 6, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for IMG)

Planes land in fog at Heathrow Airport, west London, as heavy fog covers a many parts of the south east, on April 1, 2014. (Photo by Steve Parsons/PA Wire)

A woman holding a girl reacts after Israeli airstrikes hit Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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.

Palestinians fleeing Khan Yunis on the coastal road leading to Rafah further south ride on a donkey-cart with their belongings on January 25, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel pressed its blistering assault on the Gazan city of Khan Yunis on January 25, with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas saying dozens were killed in heavy bombardment and urban combat. (Photo by AFP Photo)