American television personality Dolores Catania in the first decade of February 2024 gets the “hot gossip” in a staged photo. (Photo by dolorescatania/Instagram)

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.

“Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Ganges river. The normal Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 3 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Prayag, the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place every twelve years, at four places (Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik). The Maha (great) Kumbh Mela which comes after 12 “Purna Kumbh Melas”, or 144 years, is held at Allahabad.

The last Ardh Kumbh Mela was held over a period of 45 days beginning in January 2007, more than 70 million Hindu pilgrims took part in the Ardh Kumbh Mela at Prayag, and on January 15, the most auspicious day of the festival of Makar Sankranti, more than 5 million participated. The previous Maha Kumbh Mela, held in 2001, was attended by around 60 million people, making it at the time the largest gathering anywhere in the world in recorded history”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Sadhus (holy men) smoke at their camp near the ritual site at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers during the Ardh Kumbh Mela festival (Half Pitcher festival) January 18, 2007 in Allahabad, India. Millions of Hindu pilgrims have flocked to the largest religious gathering in the world which lasts for 45 days in northern India. The festival commemorates the mythical conflict between gods and demons over a pitcher filled with the “nectar of immortality”. Devotees believe that taking a holy dip in the Ganges at this time washes away their sins and paves the path to salvation. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A man from the Dani tribe cuts the head of a pig after cooked by traditional way which is use burned hot stones at Obia Village on August 9, 2014 in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. The stone-age Dani tribe live a traditional existence in the Baliem Valley, which is situated 1600 metres above sea level in the heart of the Cyclops Mountains. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

A view of one of the dioramas contained inside iron boxes as part of the “S.A.C.R.E.D” installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei during a media preview at the cathedral in Cuenca, Spain, July 21, 2016. Ai Weiwei has reproduced scenes of his incarceration for a new art installation, a series of almost life-size dioramas – encased in steel boxes – showing his life in jail. (Photo by Susana Vera/Reuters)

An East German civilian (L) shows an East German customs officer the contents of his Trabant (auto) at checkpoint Potsdamer Platz in East Berlin in this November 24, 1989 file picture, as East Germany enforcing stringent customs controls to avoid smuggling. (Photo by Reuters)

A girl carries a rifle as she attends a rally by followers of the Shi'ite Houthi movement commemorating the death of Imam Zaid bin Ali in Sanaa, Yemen October 26, 2016. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

Australian professional boxer Ebanie Bridges at the weigh-in ahead of their IBF World Bantamweight Title fight against Shannon O'Connell during the weigh in at Aspire, Leeds, United Kingdom on Friday, December 9, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Couldridge/Action Images via Reuters)