To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel are (a) embedded with Pakistani military units and (b) based in Pakistan to co-ordinate military operations in support of UK military operations in Regional Command South. (279963)

There are currently no UK military personnel embedded with Pakistani military units. As part of normal military relations, UK non-embedded military staff based at the British high commission in Islamabad provide a liaison and co-ordination function between the Pakistani military and UK and NATO operations in Afghanistan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fatalities of civilian contractors supplying British forces in Afghanistan there have been in each year since 2001. (280192)

[holding answer 16 June 2009]: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the number of casualties sustained by forces from each NATO member state participating in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan in each of the last three years. (281197)

The Ministry of Defence holds statistics on the number of casualties suffered by UK forces in Afghanistan since 2001, which are published on the Ministry of Defence website at:

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInAfghanistanBritishCasualties.htm

We do not comment on the casualties suffered by other nations, which are matters for the countries concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the UK has commanded Regional Command South in Afghanistan since 2003; and how many UK troops were part of that command on each occasion. (281443)

The UK has commanded Regional Command (South) once, between May 2007 and February 2008, since it was established in 2006. In February 2007 the endorsed force level for British troops in Afghanistan was 7,700.