Myanmar's military parade to mark the 72nd Armed Forces Day in the capital Naypyitaw, Myanmar March 27, 2017. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

A Palestinian clown wearing a face mask while entertaining children at their home during the lockdown after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza Strip on November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mahmoud Issa/Quds Net News/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People jump into a swimming pool seeking relief from the summer heat, in Sanaa, Yemen on August 7, 2025. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/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.

A Palestinian youth swings a homemade fireworks sparkler, as people celebrate on the night ahead of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Gaza City on April 11, 2021. (Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A Palestinian boy herds sheep in front of the ruins of Yasser Arafat International Airport, which was bombed by Israel in the past, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 5, 2016. Nabil Shurafa's travel agency in Gaza was once packed with clients booking flights to London, Paris, New York or cities across the Arab world. These days, he's lucky if anyone comes in, as so few people can get out. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

A Felix Airways plane is seen after it was destroyed by an airstrike at the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. Jets from a Saudi-led alliance destroyed the runway of Yemen's Sanaa airport on Tuesday to prevent an Iranian plane from landing there, Saudi Arabia said, as fighting across the country killed at least 30 people. Airport officials said the strikes set a civilian aircraft operated by Yemeni Felix Airways ablaze. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

Members of the Iraqi Army fire towards Islamic State militant positions at the south of Mosul, Iraq December 10, 2016. (Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)