In this September 4, 1963, file photo, a police officer carries off a demonstrator holding a Confederate flag after a group of demonstrators protested enrollment of two African-Americans at Ramsay High School in Birmingham, Ala. The Confederate battle flag has been removed from South Carolina's Statehouse grounds, in the wake of the massacre of nine African-Americans, including a state senator, at an historic black church in Charleston in June 2015. (Photo by AP Photo)

Lyon's Ghanaian forward #37 Ernest Nuamah celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Olympique Lyonnais (OL) and Stade de Reims at The Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, central-eastern France on March 30, 2024. (Photo by Olivier Chassignole/AFP Photo)

Asbjørg Nesje from Norway is a participant and trains in front of the Opera House in Oslo, Norway, on August 25, 2023, one day before the 2023 World Championship in Døds Diving (Death Diving). According to the organisers, Døds is “a form of extreme freestyle diving from heights jumping with stretched arms and belly first, landing in a cannonball or a shrimp position”. (Photo by Javad Parsa/NTB via AFP Photo)

Festivalgoers are seen running to the gates during the the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Friday, April 12, 2024, in Indio, Calif. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP Photo)

Indian girl, Amrita Bannerjee, gets dressed as the Goddess Durga, during Kumari Puja ritual as part of the Durga Puja festival at Shidaspur village, far north of Kolkata, India, 30 September 2025. During the Kumari Puja, devotees worship a girl aged between six and twelve, symbolizing the Kanya Kumari (virgin) form of the Goddess Durga Devi. Hindu devotees believe that Kanya is a living embodiment of the goddess Durga. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA)

A model poses at Checkpoint Charlie, a historic place in the German capital to promote the fashion magazine “Sous” on June 12, 2012. (Photo by Maurizio Gambarini)

A young worshipper holds a lotus flower as Buddhist monks gather at Wat Arun Buddhist temple during Asaha Bucha day in Bangkok on July 20, 2024. (Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham/AFP 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.