The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) often used by Taliban militants has proved deadly and challenging for NATO in Afghanistan as over 490 soldiers of the alliance have been killed so far this year in the conflict-ridden country.

The Taliban insurgents whose regime was toppled by the U.S.-led coalition in late 2001, in a bid to evict the NATO-led forces from Afghanistan have resorted to IEDs as many NATO member states are reluctant to continue war in the war-battered nation.

According to iCasualties, a website tracking NATO-led forces' casualties in Afghanistan, 80 soldiers of the alliance had been killed in August this year against 77 in August 2009.

So far, in September, three soldiers of the alliance have been killed in Afghanistan while in September 2001, there was no casualty.

However, in September 2002 and September 2003, one and two service members had been killed respectively.

Since January this year, the Taliban-linked activities, according to iCasualties, 493 service members of the NATO-led troops have been killed in Afghanistan while the military alliance whole casualties throughout 2009 was registered at 521.

The constant increase in troops' fatalities has forced many NATO-member states to review their military mission in Afghanistan and begun advocating for pullout.

Holland has already begun withdrawing troops from the militancy- plagued country.

Canada would not extend its military mission beyond 2011 and the alliance leader in war on terror -- the United States will begin pulling troops out in July next year.

The decision for troops' pullout is taking place in the wake of dropping public support in western nations, vis--vis the U.S.- led war against Taliban and the al-Qaida network.

Since launching the war on Taliban regime in October 2001, according to iCasualties, 2061 soldiers with 1273 of them Americans have been killed.

Survey conducted in U.S. recently, according to media reports, indicates that 52 percent of Americans are against the war in Afghanistan.

In Canada, a major U.S. ally in the war on terror, the support to war on terror in Afghanistan has dropped all time low as 80 percent of Canadians want military mission to end in 2011 and the case is almost similar in other allied nations.

Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is a simple makeshift weapon used by the Taliban in the modern military hardware era.

Although the militants acquire anti-tank mines from unknown sources, they often use homemade bombs -- the IED against the will- equipped modern NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The militants have hired easy tactic in making IEDs. They place explosive devices, mostly ammonium nitrate in jar, tin can and pressure cooker skillfully and plant it on the roads to target the security forces.

Interestingly, the well-equipped and advanced NATO forces have shown little ability to spot and defuse the lethal IEDs during operations.

The suicide vest a container of explosive devices is also a Taliban invention used in plenty against security forces in Afghanistan.

In a bid to limit the access of militants to explosive devices and reduce suicide and roadside bombings, the Afghan government had banned ammonium nitrate the chemical fertilizer used by Afghan farmers in bulk.

More than 690 Taliban-linked activities mostly in the shape of roadside bombings, according to security officials, have been registered over the past one month throughout Afghanistan.

NATO's failure to properly tackle the IED-related challenges has encouraged Taliban fighters as the outfit's leadership has repeatedly rebuffed offers for talks and instead emphasized for military victory over the 140,000 strong-NATO-led forces stationed in Afghanistan.