With the rapid progress of the Taliban movement in controlling territory, and the approaching withdrawal of international forces by the end of this month, Reuters publishes a report of what it described as the bitter harvest of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) war in Afghanistan.

Here are some of what the agency described as facts about NATO's military intervention in support of the United States in Afghanistan:

  • On September 12, 2001, the allies in NATO resorted to activating the common defense clause for the first time in the history of the Western alliance to fight the war in Afghanistan, after the attacks launched by Al-Qaeda on the United States on September 11, 2001.

It is still the only case in which the alliance has used this clause since its founding 7 decades ago.

  •  After US-led forces defeated Taliban leaders "who were giving shelter to Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda and the mastermind of attacks on the United States", NATO took over the leadership of an international coalition in 2003.

The goal was to "restore peace in Afghanistan" and to strengthen the conditions of the Afghan security forces.

In 2015, the mission known as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was replaced by the current Resolute Support training operation.

As of last April, it had about 10,000 soldiers from 36 countries.

  •  The international military coalition has suffered more than 3,500 deaths since 2001, including about 2,400 Americans, according to congressional data.

    More than 20,000 American soldiers were wounded.

    A site concerned with counting the number of victims estimates that the number of dead is 3,577.

  •  NATO troop strength peaked in Afghanistan in 2011 when the number of foreigners increased to 130,000 troops from 51 allied and partner countries.

    Since 2003, the alliance has trained hundreds of thousands of Afghan soldiers and police officers, including the creation of an Afghan air force.

  •  Germany has deployed the second largest military force in Afghanistan after the United States.

    In Kunduz province, the Taliban stronghold in the north of the country, Germany has lost more soldiers in battle than anywhere else in the world since the end of World War II. 

  • The United States alone has spent more than $140 billion in aid to Afghanistan since 2002, according to congressional data.

The Pentagon estimated the cost of US combat operations, including supporting Afghan forces, at more than $820 billion in the same time period.

  •  Afghanistan remains one of the world's poorest countries. It ranks 169 out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index published by the United Nations Development Program with a life expectancy of 64 years and a per capita GNI of $2,200.