Afghanistan (Hansard, 10 April 2002)

§ Jeremy Corbyn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of civilian and military casualties in Afghanistan since the start of present hostilities. [48614]

§ Mr. Hoon
I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 9 November 2001,Official Report,column 432W.

§ Paul Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if British troops in Afghanistan will be engaged in efforts to reduce(a)poppy cultivation and (b)the merchandising of heroin. [46277]

§ Mr. Ingram
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 March 2002,Official Report,column 870W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy). The further 1,700 troops currently deploying to Afghanistan will be concentrating on operations against remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

§ Mr. Jenkin
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in(a)Kabul and (b)Afghanistan. [41894]

§ Mr. Hoon
The security situation in Kabul appears relatively stable, especially owing to the excellent work of the International Security Assistance Force in accordance with UN SCR 1386. In Afghanistan as a whole, the situation is less stable with significant numbers of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters still active. This is why we are deploying 45 Commando Group as set out in my statement of 18 March.

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated number of Taliban and al-Qaeda troops remaining in Afghanistan is; and if he will make a statement. [44652]

§ Mr. Hoon
We estimate that the number of Taliban and al-Qaeda troops remaining in Afghanistan is in the low thousands. They pose a continuing and significant threat to international security.

§ Ann Clwyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage UK forces constitute of the coalition forces in Afghanistan. [45378]

§ Mr. Hoon
The numbers of coalition forces in Afghanistan vary over time. Once the deployment of 45 Commando Group has been completed, UK personnel should constitute some 15–20 per cent. of total coalition forces. These figures do not include the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul.