Casket of Leibby Kletzky, a murdered eight-year-old boy who went missing from the Hasidic neighborhood of Borough Park, Brooklyn is carried during a procession on July 13, 2011 in New York City. After a two day search Kletzky's dismembered body was found partially in a suitcase inside a dumpster and partially in a refrigerator in a nearby apartment. Police detectives have taken Levi Aron, 35, into custody in connection to the killing. (Photo by Ramin Talaie/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.

Women grieves near a bodies covered by tarp at the site of a landslide in Xinmo village in Maoxian County in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, Sunday, June 25, 2017. Crews searching through the rubble left by a landslide that buried a mountain village under tons of soil and rocks in southwestern China on Saturday found bodies, but more than 100 people remained missing. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Kha Tu Ngoc rests in her two- square- meter house in Ho Chi Minh City on May 2, 2018. The “micro- house” dwellings are dotted throughout Vietnam' s bustling southern hub, occupied by families clinging to postage stamp- sized plots a city developing at breakneck pace. Tucked away in winding alleys, nestled under new condo developments or sandwiched between street food stalls and shops, the tiny houses are easily missed by the unattentive passerby. (Photo by Thanh Nguyen/AFP Photo)

This photo provided by Red Antler Processing shows the alligator sport hunting team made up of, from left, Tanner White, tag-holder Donald Woods, Will Thomas and Joey Clark as they hoist, with the help of a forklift, the longest alligator officially harvested in Mississippi, Saturday, August 26, 2023, at Red Antler Processing in Yazoo City, Miss. The male alligator weighed 802.5 pounds and measured 14 feet, 3 inches long, and its length broke the state record as the longest alligator ever caught, according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. (Phoot by Shane Smith/Red Antler Processing via AP Photo)

“Sepak takraw or kick volleyball, is a sport native to the Malay-Thai Peninsula. Sepak takraw differs from the similar sport of volleyball in its use of a rattan ball and only allowing players to use their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball. It is a popular sport in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Philippines”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Hyun Ju Kim of Korea kicks over the net against Yukie Sato of Japan during the round robin match between Korea and Japan during day one of the ISTAF Sepaktakraw World Cup at Titiwangsa Stadium on July 21, 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images for UFA Sports)

“One innovative artist has created quirky artwork which re-imagines classical paintings with the faces of famous modern day cover stars such as Angeline Jolie. Multimedia producer Eisen Bernard Bernardo, 28, from Los Baños, Philippines, has created the clever works for his series called “Mag + Art”, where he takes photos of celebrities from magazine covers and carefully places them over images of people in famous classical paintings”. – Caters News. Photo: Quirky Magazine covers: Keira Knightley and the girl with the pearl earring. (Photo by Eisen Bernard Bernardo/Caters News)