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.

In this handout artists impression provided by the Russia 2018 Organising Commitee, the Rostov on Don Stadium is shown as proposed and presented as part of the Russia 2018 World Cup bid, on September 29, 2011 in Russia. (Illustration by Russia 2018 via Getty Images)

Internally displaced Syrian children stand at the entrance of their makeshift shelter that is an underground cave in Om al-Seer, southern Idlib countryside, Syria December 26, 2015. (Photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

These hilarious photos will leave people wedding themselves with laughter. The images – which include photobombs, wardrobe malfunctions and unexpected animal behaviour – have been released by the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographs (ISPWP). Each year the society holds quarterly competitions, celebrating a variety of the best image from couples special days. Other categories in the ISPWPs completions include the likes Getting Ready, First Dance, Family Love, and a selection of portrait possibilities. Here: Couples wedding photo photobombed by deer. (Photo by Hendra Lesmana/Caters News Agency/ISPWP)

Members of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's special battalion Kiev-1 rescue a hostage, who was detained by a mock terroist, during an anti-terror drill in Kiev, Ukraine, August 28, 2015. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Actors perform a scene in a film directed by Humam Husari in the rebel-held besieged town of Zamalka, in the Damascus suburbs, Syria September 19, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

A fan cosplays as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn during the 2017 New York Comic Con, Day 4 on October 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/WireImage)

In this Monday, January 30, 2017 photo, wildfires straddle Chile's Dichato community. Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)