UK renews call-up of reservists for Iraq
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Jan 11, IRNA
The British government has extended its call up of reservists for a further year to serve in Iraq, Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram has announced.
"The new order is effective until 3 January 2007 and replaces the previous order that expired earlier this month," Ingram said in a parliamentary statement published Wednesday.
The new order comes after the next tranche of reservists was announced last month, involving some 700 personnel to be deployed in the Iraqi theatre from May, where the majority will complete six month tours.
The Armed Forces minister said that during the course of the last year, some 2,000 reservists were called out and accepted into service to support operations in Iraq.
The British government said last June that it would in future be rationing its dependence on reservists to augment its troops deployments in Iraq by phasing their call-up for duty.
Reservists, from Britain's Territorial Army, are currently deployed in a range of activities in Iraq, including force protection duties and providing individual reinforcements to units.
It is thought that between 10 and 20 per cent of the some 9,000 British troops in Iraq are reservists, mostly surgeons, dentists, physiotherapists and mental health specialists.
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