A Sadhu, Hindu holy person, prepares himself by smearing ashes on his body during the Maha Shivaratri festival at the Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, 11 March 2021. The Maha Shivratri festival, which is celebrated on 11 March, sees Hindu devotees, from across the country and neighboring India, gather to celebrate the birthday of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of creation and destruction, by offering special prayers and fasting. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)

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 Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae now found in the wild only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A Tasmanian Devil bears it's teeth at a quarantine facility August 31, 2005 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Once upon a time a myth was born that insects, unlike animals, are just a machines that not capable of learning and survive only based on their instincts. That myth has become the widespread opinion. Of course, this opinion is indeed erroneous, like many other widespread opinions. Let us try to find out which part is a myth and which part is true.

(L-R) Edmea Pereira, 69, Elsa Rodrigues, 61, and Osmidio Conde, 71, take part in their surf class in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, March 16, 2016. When work is up, surf is up in Brazil, as a group of retired citizens take to the waves in keep-fit, keep-young sessions at a surf school in the city of Santos. The classes are run for free, three times a week at the Cisco Arana school, which aims to prove that age is just a number. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A family takes a picture at the Oscar Myer Wienermobile during a visit to “The Flower Fields”, as California opens up from the pandemic, in Carlsbad, California, U.S., March 31, 2021. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Some bats in the forested area of Guapiles, Costa Rica, 21 April 2020. (Photo by Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA/EFE)

Jedi Ambassador of The Chicago Jedi, Dan McCann, 56, standing in his window in Chicago, Illinois on May 3, 2020. Normally, Dan would be preparing for The Galactic Battle For Chi-Town, a yearly mock Lightsaber battle in Chicago, which this year is being done via selfies shared over Facebook due to Illinois and Chicago's Stay At Home order. (Photo by Chris Riha/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)