§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which nations have contributed forces to(a) Operation Enduring Freedom and (b) ISAF; how many troops each of these nations has contributed; and if he will make a statement. [50000]
§ Mr. HoonOperation Enduring Freedom is being co-ordinated by the US Central Command in Tampa, Florida. The latest figures available are from 27 February, when, in addition to the US, there were 68 nations supporting the global war on terrorism, 17 of which had deployed more than 17,000 troops to the US Central Command's area of responsibility.
The list of nations contributing to International Security Assistance Force, with their individual contributions as at 15 April, is in the table.
The long list of nations involved in these offensive and security assistance activities illustrates the breadth of support for the international coalition against terrorism. It is vital that all these nations continue their support to deal with the significant threat which remains from Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and to help the Afghans as they begin the rebuilding of their country.
Nation Total Austria 74 Bulgaria 32 Czech Republic 5 Denmark 40 Finland 34 France 452 Germany 1,013 Greece 123 Italy 357 Netherlands 220 Norway 22 New Zealand 7 Poland 8 Romania 46 Spain 350 Sweden 40 Turkey 264 United Kingdom 1,327 United States 38 Total 4,452
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what heavy lift aircraft(a) have been used in the deployment of British troops for ISAF and (b) are being used to deploy 45 Commando to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [49999]
§ Mr. HoonC-17, Tristar and C-130 aircraft have been used to deploy United Kingdom personnel and equipment to Afghanistan. Chartered An-124s have also been used for deploying equipment.
823W
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops involved in ISAF will be reallocated to Operation Enduring Freedom; and if he will make a statement. [50001]
§ Mr. HoonNone. We have drawn a distinction between those troops involved in security assistance activities in Kabul and those troops who are currently deploying for offensive operations to play their part in the task of rooting out al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants.