Garbage men race on their tricycles along the track during the garbage men bicycle race at Ban Jelacic square in Zagreb, Croatia, 19 August 2020. Zagreb's authorities organised a street festival named “Cest is the best” despite the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia with some 219 infected people. (Photo by Antonio Bat/EPA/EFE)

British South American Airways hostess Mary Guthrie with a pair of pineapples, on the return of the Lancastrian airliner 'Star Dust' to Heathrow Airport after a test-flight to Buenos Aires, 15th January 1946

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 British soldier from 3 Commando Brigade looks through the sight of his sniper rifle at Camp Gibraltar February 24, 2003 near Kuwait City, Kuwait. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Tuvalu-registered OS 35 cargo ship lies on the seabed, offshore Gibraltar, Tuesday, August 30, 2022. Gibraltar authorities say they have beached a cargo ship to prevent it from sinking after it collided with a liquefied natural gas carrier in the bay of Gibraltar. (Photo by Europa Press via AP Photo)

Some 1200 windsurfers take the start of the 21th edition of the Defi Wind in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Gruissan in southern France, on May 19, 2023. (Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP Photo)

A greedy wild elephant shunned jungle leaves and instead stopped passing trucks to steal sugarcane. The 35-year-old jumbo nicknamed “Fatty” by locals emerged from the forest on a road in Chachoengsao province, Thailand, on December 29, 2022. (Photo by Au Wanapin/ViralPress)

A participant takes part in the High-Heels Race as part of the Pride celebrations, in the Chueca neighbourhood in Madrid on July 7, 2022. MADO (Madrid Pride) is a series of street celebrations that take place during the city's LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersеx and queer) Pride week. The Pride parade on July 9 will be the highlight of the week. (Photo by Javier Soriano/AFP Photo)