§ Richard Younger-RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate the Department has made of(a) the number of Iraqi ammunition dumps and (b) the quantity of munitions in the British sector. [125699]
§ Mr. IngramAs of the 3 September, the following caches of munitions have been found in the United Kingdom Area of operations:
Number of caches
Size Estimated quantity
unexploded
ordnance
Types 111 Small 500–1,000 Various 61 ISO Container 1,000–5,000 Various 8 Multiple ISO Container 5,000–10,000 Various 9 Small Compound Over 10,000 Various 8 Large Compound Over 100,000 Various
§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British casualties there were(a) during the conflict and (b) since the conflict in Iraq. [127391]
§ Mr. IngramAs of 9 September United Kingdom Forces had suffered 49 fatalities, 33 during the conflict and 16 since. One member of the Defence Fire Services had also died after the conflict ended.
515WFifty-three personnel had been wounded, 40 during the conflict and 13 since. We only record centrally the number of wounded who received hospital treatment. Those that received local treatment and then returned to duty are not recorded.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 17 July 2003,Official Report, column 484W, on Iraq (friendly fire incidents), if he will make the reports and recommendations of these investigations available to hon. Members and the public when inquiries are completed; and if he will make a statement. [128520]
§ Mr. IngramThe purpose of the internal Service inquiries being carried out into these incidents is to establish the facts; to discover whether any shortcomings in Service equipment or procedures caused or contributed to the incident; and, where necessary, to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence. To encourage witnesses to come forward freely and speak with the utmost candour, we do not publish reports in their entirety; this has been the policy of successive governments. The reports are, however, made available to HM Coroners to help them determine the cause and circumstances of death.
I am prepared, however, to make a summary of the report's conclusions available to the House in this instance, but only after all other related proceedings such as disciplinary action are entirely complete. To do otherwise would be to risk prejudicing those other proceedings.
§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to retrieve and render safe cluster bombs and other munitions used by allied forces during the recent military action in Iraq; how much of this work will be carried out by non-governmental organisations; and if he will make a statement. [128527]
§ Mr. IngramThe United Kingdom and other Coalition Armed Forces and Non-Governmental Organisation teams have been engaged in Explosive Ordnance Disposal tasks since before the end of the conflict in Iraq. This Unexploded Ordnance includes not only that fired or dropped by Coalition Forces, but also much from the Iraq-Iran war, as well as mines laid, ordnance fired or dropped, and stores of ammunition and other ordnance left by Iraqi military and paramilitary forces.
In the UK's Area of Responsibility, 1,500 tasks involving the destruction of over 146,000 munitions have been completed.
§ Mr. PageTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many coalition forces(a) were killed in the Iraq conflict and (b) were injured in the conflict and are still receiving treatment; and how many of these were from friendly fire. [128942]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 11 September 2003]: As of 9 September 2003, 49 United Kingdom armed forces personnel and one member of the Defence Fire Service had died since the start of coalition military operations against Iraq. 39, all from the armed forces, were killed in action or subsequently died of wounds received and 11 died in non-battle accidents or from natural causes.
516WOf the fatalities, three have been confirmed as being caused by 'friendly fire' and three others remain under investigation.
We only record centrally the number of wounded who received hospital treatment. Those that received local treatment and returned to duty are not recorded. As of 9 September 2003, UK forces had suffered 53 wounded. We do not hold central records of how many remain under treatment.
We do not hold data on the numbers of fatalities and casualties suffered by coalition partners.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent requests he has received from the United States Government for the use of British military facilities in respect of the military action in Iraq. [129070]
§ Mr. IngramMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence received a formal request on 18 November 2002 from the United States Government for assistance in any potential military action against the regime in Iraq. This was one of some 50 requests made by the US to a range of potential coalition partners. Subsequently, the Government have set out to Parliament the nature of their contribution to military action in Iraq on a number of occasions.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists are deployed on operations in Iraq. [129071]
§ Mr. CaplinAs at 1 September 2003 there were 2,453 reservists deployed on operations in Iraq.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much finance has been allocated to UK-funded operators responsible for cleaning UK unexploded ordnance used in the recent invasion of Iraq. [118021]
§ Mr. IngramProviding a safe, secure and risk free environment for the Iraqi people is a key aspect of restoration activity for the coalition. The responsibility for developing a programme for the removal of landmines rests with the Iraq Mine Action Centre (IMAC) and not the UK military. While the Ministry of Defence has not therefore allocated Defence funds to demining operators for the cleaning of UK unexploded ordnance, we have provided personnel to help the process. The UK and the Iraq Mine Action Centre are in the process of marking and documenting around 400 unexploded ordnance sites.
The UK has made a significant effort to educate the local population in its area of operations about the dangers of mines and unexploded ordnance. We have, with the support of UNICEF and the ICRC, developed a Theatre Mine Risk Education Programme.
A poster and leaflet campaign continues and head teachers in Basrah have been briefed so that they can educate the children. In addition to this, local radio stations are informing the local population about unexploded ordnance and encouraging them not to tamper with anything that has either been marked as or may look like unexploded ordnance.
§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of recovering unexploded ordnance in Iraq. [118325]
517W
§ Mr. IngramThe United Kingdom and other coalition explosive ordnance disposal teams in the UK's area of responsibility have completed over 1,500 tasks and destroyed over 146,000 individual munitions. We do not record types of munitions destroyed. 197 caches or storage sites of unexploded ordnance (UXO) have already been identified:
Number of caches
Size Estimated quantity of
unexploded
ordnance
Types 111 Small 500–1,000 Various 61 ISO Container 1,000–5,000 Various 8 Multiple ISO Container 5,000–10,000 Various 9 Small Compound Over 10,000 Various 8 Large Compound Over 100,000 Various A full survey of sites contaminated with unexploded munitions has been underway since June. The survey has been conducted in concert with other coalition forces, demining companies and with non-Government organisations.