Jil Belen Teichmann of Switzerland in action against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in her third round match on Day 6 at Roland Garros on May 27, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

This photo provided by the McKinney Fire Department shows officials at the site of a crash involving a small plane and a vehicle near Aero Country Airport, Saturday, November 11, 2023, in McKinney, Texas. Authorities say a small plane overshot the runway while trying to land at a Texas airport and struck a car that was driving along a nearby road, injuring one person. (Photo by McKinney Fire Department via AP Photo)

A man holds a Savannah monitor in the petting zoo “La Casita del Avestruz” (The ostrich's little house), in Caracas, Venezuela on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Gaby Oraa/Reuters)

Mamediara attends the Met Gala Party for Jean Paul Gaultier x Shayne Oliver Group held at Sapphire in Manhattan on May 6, 2024. (Photo by Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post)

Australia's State Emergency Service (SES) personnel gather at the scene of a light plane crash near the Capital Golf Course, in Melbourne, Australia, 22 June 2021. A pilot was injured and rushed to hospital after his light plane crashed shortly after taking off from Moorabbin Airport. (Photo by James Ross/EPA/EFE)

Mount Whaleback iron ore mine 23°21’32.3”S, 119°40’40.1”E. The Mount Whaleback Iron Ore Mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Roughly 98% of the world’s mined iron ore is used to make steel and is thus a significant component in the construction of buildings, automobiles, and appliances such as refrigerators. (Photo by Daily Overview/DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Company)

Oded Balilty is an Israeli documentary photographer. He is an Associated Press photographer and won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2007. Photo: A Jewish settler struggles with an Israeli security officer during clashes that erupted as authorities evacuated the West Bank settlement outpost of Amona, east of the Palestinian town of Ramallah, in this February 1, 2006, file photo. (Photo by Oded Balilty/AP 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.