A Russian peacekeeper shouts “No pictures!” at a checkpoint outside the city of Stepanakert on November 13, 2020, during a ceasefire in the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian began deploying 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh on November 10 after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed a peace deal to end weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed region. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

A man runs away during a police round up of suspected drug addicts in Kabul, Afghanistan December 27, 2015. Afghan officials have opened a new drug treatment centre in an abandoned NATO military base in Kabul, in the latest attempt to stamp out the country's massive problem of drug abuse. Camp Phoenix, a former training camp on the edges of Kabul set up by the U.S. army in 2003, will take in around 1,000 homeless drug addicts who will receive food, medical attention and treatment, said Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

In this photograph taken on October 4, 2016, an Afghan baker prepares bread at his shop as he waits for customers in Lashkar Gah, the capital city of Helmand province. For years Helmand was the centerpiece of the Western military intervention in Afghanistan only for it to slip deeper into a quagmire of instability, with almost the entire southern province teetering on the verge of collapse. Intensified fighting has killed hundreds and forced thousands to flee to besieged capital Lashkar Gah, sparking a humanitarian crisis as the city – one of the last government- held enclaves – risks falling to the Taliban' s repeated ferocious assaults. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

Journalists watch the take off of a German Eurofighter jet at the airbase in Noervenich, Germany, Thursday, August 20, 2020. Pilots from Israel and Germany will fly together the next two weeks during the first joint military Air Force exercises between the two nations in Germany. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

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.

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

An RAF Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon takes off on March 22, 2011 at the Gioia Del Colle airbase in Italy. After last week's UN resolution which voted for a non-fly zone to be enforced over Libya, sorties have continued to be flown by forces representing the UN coalition from Italian military bases. More than 110 missiles have been fired on pro-Gaddafi strongholds in attempt to knock out the Libyan leaders defences.

“The Boeing X-45 unmanned combat air vehicle is a concept demonstrator for a next generation of completely autonomous military aircraft, developed by Boeing's Phantom Works. Manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the X-45 was a part of DARPA's J-UCAS project”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Two X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV) are shown to members of the news media July 11, 2002 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The X-45A, developed by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Boeing Company, is the first unmanned system designed from inception for combat missions. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)