Crossword Genius

Afghans in conflict? (4,2,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dogs of war

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'afghans' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'conflict?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'conflict?' could be 'war' (war is a kind of conflict) and 'war' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dogs of war that I've seen before include "Pillaging soldiers" , "Some of man's best friends" , "mercenaries!" , "forces" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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