Masks based on real people's faces are diplayed at the Shuhei Okawara's mask shop in Tokyo, Japan on December 16, 2020. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

Two biplanes of the Team Breitling cross during a training flight prior the AIR14 air show in Payerne, Switzerland, August 29, 2014. (Photo by Peter Schneider/EPA)

A general view shows the wreckage of armed trucks on the streets of Budapest at the time of the uprising against the Soviet-supported Hungarian communist regime in 1956. The picture was taken in the period between October 23 and November 4, 1956. (Photo by Laszlo Almasi/Reuters)

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.

The Mile O' Mud is a 7/8-mile oval track with a 1/8-mile diagonal lane slashed through the center. The racing lanes are approximately 60 feet wide. On average, the muddy water is four to six feet deep, with three strategically placed holes. The largest hole, located in front of the grandstand, is the treacherous “Sippy Hole”, named for the legendary driver “Mississippi” Milton Morris, Swamp Buggy King 1955, who repeatedly got stuck in it. (Photo by Malcolm Lightner)

Ellen MacRae a student from Edinburgh University take a lateral flow antigen test at a test centre which is also open to students in Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University and SRUC on December 1, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The programme is running in partnership between the University of Edinburgh and other Scottish universities, the Scottish Government and NHS Test and Protect, supporting students leaving their term-time accommodation to travel home at the end of term for the winter break. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

Shaymaa Ismaa’eel, a 24-year-old Muslim woman passes by a group of angry protesters at an Islamic conference in Washington, DC on April 21, 2019. In response, she crouched in front of them and flashed a peace sign. The photo, posted on Instagram, prompted an outpouring of support. (Photo by Shaymaa Ismaa'eel/Instagram)

A woman holds an umbrella while walking along a flooded street during heavy rain in Dhaka, Bangladesh on June 12, 2023. (Photo by Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)