Coalition troops in Iraq

More than 30 countries have contributed troops to the multinational forces in Iraq.

The US is overwhelmingly the biggest foreign contributor, followed by the UK, Italy and Poland.

Numbers fluctuate as troops are rotated in and out of the country. On 19 July 2004 there were about 133,000 foreign troops in Iraq, of whom about 112,000 were American.

Any major engagement with insurgents is run by US forces, except in the south-east, where British forces take the lead.

Baghdad Area of Operations:
About 30,000 foreign soldiers, most from the US 1st Cavalry Division. There are 32 Estonians in the Abu Ghraib district of the city.

Iraqi troops began patrols in Baghdad on 28 June, in co-ordination with the multinational forces.

Baghdad is also the location of the multinational force headquarters.

Multinational Brigade North (also known as Task Force Olympia):
About 20,000 soldiers, of whom 11,500 are Iraqi security forces (national guard, border patrol and army).

The remaining 8,500 are nearly all American (mostly Third Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division). There is also an Albanian commando company.

In August 2004, South Korea is due to start deploying 3,000 new troops in Irbil. Most of the 700 South Koreans already in the country have been based in the south-east, but about half are now, reportedly, being redeployed to Irbil.

(Sources: Multinational Brigade North; Globalsecurity.org)

North-Central Area of Operations:
The US 1st Infantry is augmented by contingents from:
Georgia (150)
Latvia (about 40)
Moldova (30)
Macedonia (30)

Western Area of Operations:
The US 1st Marine Division is augmented by contingents from:
Azerbaijan (150)
Tonga (45)

Multinational Division Centre-South:
Poland (2,350)
Ukraine (1,550)
Thailand (450)
Bulgaria (420)
Hungary (290)
Romania (200)
Mongolia (140
Latvia (110)
Slovakia (110)
Lithuania (50)

(Source: Multinational Division Centre-South website, figures dated 16 June 200, when the Philippines still had 90 troops in the division. They were withdrawn ahead of schedule on 19 July 2004.)

Multinational Division South-East:
UK (8,300, mainly 1st Mechanised Brigade)
Italy (2,800)
The Netherlands (1,300)
Japan (500)
Romania (500)
Denmark (400)
Norway (130, in the process of leaving)
Portugal (124)
Czech Republic (90)
Lithuania (60)
New Zealand (60)

(Source: MND SE spokesman, 7 July 2004)

Others:
The numbers above usually do not include troops involved in logistical support, for example South Korean engineers and medics, or Estonian cargo handlers.

Australia has 850 troops in and around Iraq, mainly carrying out specialist functions such as air traffic control, air transport, aerial maritime patrols and maritime interception.

Singapore has also supplied a transport aircraft, a tank-carrying landing ship and police for training purposes - in total some 200 troops and police.

Some countries have significant numbers of soldiers at headquarters in Baghdad, and on warships or in air bases near Iraq. About 1,150 UK servicemen and women fall into this category.

Spain withdrew its 1,300 troops in April. Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Norway and Kazakhstan have either withdrawn their forces, or are in the process of doing so.