Sunrise over the River Thames and Tower Bridge in London today morning on January 28, 2024. It has been forecast that Sahara dust will be in the atmosphere. (Photo by Alister Gooding/Picture Exclusive)

This picture taken on September 14, 2024 shows Filipina wrestler “Crystal” fighting her opponent Yuki Kamifuku of Japan (not pictured) during a Middle Kingdom Wrestling (MKW) championship event in Shanghai. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

General view of performance during the “Fuerza Bruta Wayra” show on February 28, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Xavi Torrent/Getty Images)

A Pegasus airplane is seen stuck in mud as it skidded off the runway after landing in Trabzon Airport, Turkey early Sunday on January 14, 2018. A passage plane which belongs to Turkey's Pegasus Airlines skidded off the runway of Trabzon airport Saturday and ended up halfway down a steep slope into the Black Sea, Turkish media reported on Sunday. 162 passengers and crew on board were safely evacuated. (Photo by Hakan Burak Altunoz/Anadolu Agency/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.

Volodymyr, a service member of the Ukrainian armed forces, plays with puppies at fighting positions on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk region, Ukraine on April 10, 2021. The two unnamed puppies living on frontline positions will be taken home and named by soldiers departing on troops rotation. (Photo by Oleksandr Klymenko/Reuters)

Long row of shiny new Flying Fortresses, part of huge reserves being built up in Britain for D-Day, stands by to be flown to combat units as replacements, May 25, 1944. (Photo by AP Photo)

People participate in the Winter Snow Sports Festival in Kalam, about 99 km from Mingora in the northern upper reaches of Swat valley on February 12, 2022. (Photo by Abdul Majeed/AFP Photo)