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.

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 53rd brigade fires a RPG-9 towards Russian positions at the frontline close to Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, August 19, 2023. (Photo by Libkos/AP Photo)

American model and television personality Amelia Hamlin is seen attending The Annual Frame Fashion Week dinner during NYFW on September 09, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Russian servicemen drive a partially covered T-14 Armata tank along a street before a rehearsal for the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia, April 29, 2015. Russia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two on May 9. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

A masked protester talks to a soldier during clashes after the funeral of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan October 21, 2012. Lebanese soldiers fired guns and tear gas to push back hundreds of protesters who broke through a police cordon and tried to storm the government headquarters in Beirut. (Photo by Hussein Malla/Associated Press)

Tourists look at would-be immigrants at the Maspalomas beach, on Gran Canaria in Spain's Canary Islands, after some 21 would-be immigrants arrived in a fishing boat on their way to European soil from Africa, November 5, 2014. (Photo by Borja Suarez/Reuters)

U.S. Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment deployed to Combat Outpost Sabari, Afghanistan scan their area as they begin a multi-day air assault mission near the Pakistani border of eastern Afghanistan's Khost province May 2, 2012. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force)

A group of policemen and passers-by survey the wreckage of a taxi in Stoke Newington, London. Its front wheel lies on the pavement next to a sign bearing the ironic instruction “All Cars Stop Here”. 14th February 1930. (Photo by Fox Photos). P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.