Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers load a tranquilized elephant onto a truck during a translocation exercise to Ithumba Camp in Tsavo East National Park, in Solio Ranch in Nyeri County, Kenya, February 21, 2018. Wildlife officials in Kenya kicked off a relocation operation for 30 elephants, fitting monitoring collars on the tranquilized animals before using cranes to swing them, inverted with bound feet and scything tusks, onto flatbed trucks. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Syrian fighters from the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) fire a missile against regime positions on May 13, 2019 in the rebel-held northern part of Syria's Hama province. Clashes on the edge of a jihadist bastion in northwestern Syria have killed at least 42 fighters in 24 hours, a monitor said today, after regime bombardment on the region devastated health services. (Photo by Omar Haj Kadour/AFP Photo)

A wolf-like robot “Super Monster Wolf” stands beside a rice field to drive away wild animals that cause damages to crops in Kisarazu, Chiba prefecture, on August 25, 2017. The agricultural coopetative association JA Kisarazu-shi introduced the 65cm-long and 50cm-high robot recently on a trial basis which can detect wild animals such as boars and deers with an infrared ray sensor when they approach and intimidates them, flashing the red LED eyes and blaring 48 types of sounds including a wolf growl and human voice. (Photo by Toru Yamanaka/AFP Photo)

A female sniper of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) monitors the area during a celebration at the iconic Al- Naim square in Raqa on October 19, 2017, after retaking the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. The SDF fighters flushed jihadist holdouts from Raqa' s main hospital and municipal stadium, wrapping up a more than four- month offensive against what used to be the inner sanctum of IS' s self- proclaimed “caliphate”. (Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo)

In this timed-exposure night photo taken early on February 12, 2017, Mount Sinabung volcano spews reddish smoke and ash, as seen from the Karo district in North Sumatra province. Activity levels have increased in the past week, with Sinabung shooting hot ash clouds into the sky dozens of times, according to the local volcano monitoring agency. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

A juvenile blackcap is recorded in the soft light of morning at Minorca, UK, a former open-cast mine near Moira in the National Forest on June 18, 2025. Dr Heather Gilbert, research and evidence manager, checks mist nets among wildflowers and young trees as part of long-term monitoring that shows bird numbers have increased by 48 per cent over 30 years. (Photo by Rod Kirkpatrick/RKP Photography)

Zookeepers measure the length of a pueblan milk snake in the Reptile House of ZSL London Zoo as part of their annual weighing and measuring of their animals on August 25, 2011 in London, England. The heights and weights of over 750 different animal species at the zoo are recorded into the International Species Information System, to monitor their health and share the data with other zoos across the world. (Photo by Oli Scarff/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.