Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Conservative) on Monday, 12 July 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 July 2004. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Monday, 19 July 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the current size is of the Iraqi army; and what the forecast size is for July 2005. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current size is of the Iraqi army; and what the forecast size is for July 2005. [184273] Mr. Rammell: According to statistics provided by the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) the projected strength for the Iraqi Army is 36,000 personnel. At present, it numbers 7,116 with a further 2,638 currently under training. The aim is for the army to reach full operational capability by January 2005. These figures do not include the Iraqi National Guard (ING), formerly the Iraq Civil Defence Corps. It currently numbers 38,000 and is due to reach 50,000 by December 2004. The ING has officially been subsumed into the Iraqi armed forces but is a distinct entity from the regular army.

Secondary information