Midfielder Lindsey Horan (9) of Team United States and midfielder Kosovare Asllani (9) of Team Sweden go up for a header during the first round of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Stadium on Wednesday, July 21. 2021. Sweden defeated the United States of America 3-0. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

Kieran Woolley of Australia crashes into a cameraman during mens park skateboard at the Olympics at Ariake Urban Park, Tokyo, Japan on August 5, 2021. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/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.

Four-year-old Solaris Arias (right) jumps through water spraying from an open fire hydrant in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 20, 2012. Much of the state remained under a heat advisory Tuesday afternoon because of the steamy air mass that has moved into the region resulting in temperatures in the 90s. (Photo by Steven Senne/AP Photo)

Sumo wrestlers compete during the annual “Honozumo” ceremonial sumo tournament dedicated to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 2016. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)

Tony Appleton, a town crier, announces the royal birth outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital after Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby boy in central London July 22, 2013. Prince William's wife Kate gave birth on Monday to a baby boy, in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, who becomes third in line to the British throne, his office said. The royal baby, the couple's first child, was born at 4:24 p.m. (15:24 GMT), weighing 8 lbs and 6 oz. (Photo by Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press)

Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps perform in the gala exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing on December 10, 2023. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

A tree stands in a lake in Usingen near Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, March 22, 2023, the World Water Day. World Water Day was established in 1992 by the United Nations to spread awareness about the water condition all over the world. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)