This photograph taken during a government organised media tour shows people in traditional costume standing in Potala Palace Square as the Potala Palace – classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1994 – is seen in the background in the regional capital Lhasa, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on June 1, 2021. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

A captive elephant is made to swim for visitors at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

A shepherd with his flock shelters from the rain under a huge boulder in Dharmsala, India, Monday, August 8, 2022. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)

Folk dancers perform a traditional “Chhou” dance during the celebrations to mark India's 75th Independence Day at the Red Road in Kolkata on August 15, 2022. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

Student of Meiji University Yuki Hou licks a screen of Taste the TV (TTTV), a prototype lickable TV screen that can imitate the flavours of various foods, during its demonstration at the university in Tokyo, Japan, December 22, 2021. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Fish are thrown onto a truck during a winter fishing festival held on the frozen Wulungu Lake in Fuhai county, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, January 18, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

France's defender #07 Sakina Karchaoui (L) and France's forward #11 Kadidiatou Diani (R) celebrate their win at the end of the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup Group F football match between France and Brazil at Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane on July 29, 2023. (Photo by Dan Peled/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.