International Security Assistance Force - Contributing Nations - NATO Nations

NATO Nations

All troop figures are as of latest ISAF/NATO Placemat, and are current as of 15 May 2012. Source ISAF Website.

• Albania – 290 The Albanian contribution to ISAF operations in Afghanistan currently consists of 440 soldiers in three locations. On 28 July 2010, Albania sent its first combat contingent of 44 specialised soldiers to engage in direct combat in the province of Kandahar alongside US and British special forces. It was part of the Special Operations Battalion, or BOS. The contingent was given the name "Eagle 1". On 25 January 2011 the second combat mission consisting of 45 soldiers named "Eagle 2" was sent to Afghanistan following the return of the "Eagle 1" mission which was successful. Soon the mission was replaced by "Eagle 3". As of 16 January 2011, Albania has sent its fourth mission codenamed "Eagle 4" to engage in combat in Kandahar. However, the main contingent is composed of a company under Italian command in the province of Herat. Albania also has a squad of soldiers under Turkish command in Kabul and a contribution to a joint medical team with the Czech contribution. The latest contingent is composed of 222 soldiers of the 8th Regiment. On 20 February 2012, one Albanian Commandos have been killed this Monday in Kandahar, Afghanistan, during a firefight. The news was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Albania, according to which, the soldiers are Feti Vogli, Captain of the First Special Force, and was severely wounded Alexander Peci, an ammunition specialist. According to a press release, the Albanian Commandos were attacked at 15:05 by a group of Afghan police, while they were accompanying the personnel of an USAID mission in the Robot village, Kandahar. They were shot with automatic weapons and a light machine gun, which also left a wounded soldier from the ally countries. The two Albanian soldiers received serious wounds and passed away in a Kandahar hospital, while their team arrested 11 Afghan police agents, responsible for the attack.

• Belgium – 522 The mission is named BELU ISAF 21. Their main task is to provide security at Kabul International Airport, while detachments (KUNDUZ 16) assist in the northern PRTs of Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif. In September 2008, OGF 4 started: four F‑16s with about 140 support personnel deployed. They operate from Kandahar Airport. The Belgian Air Force operated close together with the Dutch F-16 fighter jets already deployed there.

• Bulgaria – 605 In December 2009, the Bulgarian Minister of Defence Nikolay Mladenov said that the Bulgarian contingent in Afghanistan, which is divided in two military bases in Kabul and Kandahar with a total of 602 soldiers, will be consolidated in Kandahar and that it could add up to 100 troops in Afghanistan in 2010. In July 2011, Bulgaria sent 165 more soldiers making the total number of contributing forces to 767. The government has declared that it will withdraw its troops in 2014.

• Canada – 508, mostly located in Kabul. Canadian Forces had been actively engaged in fighting the Taliban in the dangerous South and have suffered a high proportion of the allied casualties. The Canadian Forces are officially there to help train Afghan National Army and police, facilitate reconstruction, and provide security, but in 2006, with the situation in Kandahar Province turned increasingly violent, the Canadian Forces participated in several operations and battles since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in 2001. The Royal Canadian Air Force had a major presence in Afghanistan, including three CC‑130 Hercules cargo planes, two CP‑140 surveillance planes, six CH‑147 Chinook transport helicopters, six Mil Mi‑8 leased for one year from Skylink Aviation, eight CH‑146 Griffon utility helicopters and three CU‑170 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The Canadian Army have increased their presence with main battle tanks, some ten Leopard C2 and twenty Leopard 2A6M CAN, approximately one hundred LAV III armoured vehicles and currently use six 155 mm M777 howitzers in Afghanistan. Canada has suffered 157 casualties in Afghanistan. As of 2011, all Canadian combat forces withdrew from Kandahar and relocated the bulk of their forces in Kabul, with detachments in RC North and RC West.

• Croatia – 320 Troops and 12 civilians are involved in three locations, additional platoon is on its way to bolster this number, bringing total troop numbers to 350 by the end of 2010/11. Croatian parliament voted on extra troop numbers on 7 December with all party supporting troop increase, although parliament did recognize that additional increases in troop numbers might be possible during 2011 and 2012 to help train local army and police units.

• Czech Republic – 527 Troops are involved in four locations, as of July 2010, 4000 awaited in 2011 and 3400 in 2012, when the withdrawing will start. The largest unit was deployed as PRT Logar composed of 192 troops and 12 civilians in Logar Province, in place since 19 March 2008. Four BMP‑2 IFVs are part of PRT Logar, however they are only garding the Shank Base due to their weak IED protection. 4 Pandur II are also part of the PRT Logar, which are being actively used in operations. Iveco LMV is the most commonly used vehicle by the Czech Armed Forces allover Afghanistan. Field Hospital at Kabul International Airport was deployed in March 2007 and consists of 81 medical and 30 NBC protection personnel. Eight helicopter pilots and technicians are part of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT). Also, four weather forecast specialists and two air traffic controllers are part of the Czech contingent deployed to Kabul International Airport. A third unit was sent to Afghanistan at the end of April 2007, and involves 350 members of the Czech Military Police Special Operations Group, who are attached to British forces in the Southern Helmand province. Fourth unit was deployed in July 2008 and is composed of 63 troops who are in charge of force protection at Dutch FOB Hadrain in Uruzgan Province. The Czechs also donated 6 Mi‑17 and 6 Mi‑24 helicopters to the Afghan National Army Air corps, fly 3 Mi‑17 helicopters in Pakitika Province and announced to deploy one C‑295 in 2011. Five Czech soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

• Denmark – 692 The major Danish military contribution is a battle group, which is currently operating with British forces in the Green Zone in the central part of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. The battle group consists of two mechanized infantry companies, a tank platoon and a flight of light reconnaissance helicopters. The battle group also consists of combat support and support units. In the nearby Kandahar Province, troops from the Royal Danish Air Force take part in manning the Kandahar Airfield Crisis Establishment (KAF CE), which is running the airfield. But Danish troops are also deployed to other parts of Afghanistan. In northern Afghanistan approximately twenty troops are serving in the German-led PRT in Feyzabad. In western Afghanistan ten troops are serving in the Lithuanian led PRT in Chagcharan. There is also a small contribution to ISAF headquarters in Kabul and to the staffing of Kabul International Airport. There is also a RDAF presence with the NATO AWACS contingent in Mazar-i-Sharif. In Helmand Danish troops are involved in the worst fighting their armed forces have undertaken since the Second Schleswig War of 1864. Denmark has lost 42 soldiers in Afghanistan since 2002. A recent survey has determined that Denmark by far has the highest count of casualties relative to population. This has sparked controversy whether Denmark should withdraw troops to more safe regions in Afghanistan.

• Estonia – 153 The majority of Estonian troops have been deployed to PRT Lashkar-Gah in the southern province of Helmand, together with the forces of the United Kingdom and Denmark. 9 Estonian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

• France – 3,279 French forces are deployed in the Surobi District and in Kapisa Province under the command of the Lafayette Brigade. Six French Dassault Mirage 2000D fighters and two C‑135F refueling aircraft were based at Dushanbe Airport in Dushanbe, Tajikistan but relocated to Kandahar on 26 September 2007; from there they conduct operations in support of ISAF. An assortment of 200 naval, air force, and army special forces personnel were withdrawn from Southern Afghanistan in early 2007, but around 50 remained to train Afghan forces. On 26 February 2008 it was reported that Paris would deploy hundreds of troops to eastern Afghanistan to free up American soldiers, who would then be able to assist Canadian forces in the flashpoint southern province of Kandahar. Shortly afterwards, 700 troops were deployed reinforce the French activities in Surobi and Kapissa. The deployment marked a significant change in French policy in Afghanistan. The French Prime Minister, François Fillon, later announced that 100 additional troops and Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopters would be sent to the country. According to the French newspaper Libération, Nicolas Sarkozy is planning to send more several hundred troops. France has decided to send Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters to Afghanistan in the second quarter of 2009. In April 2010, French president Nicolas Sarkozy ruled out sending additional troops to Afghanistan in the near future. 88 French troops have been killed in Afghanistan. However, in the summer of 2010, 250 reinforcements were announced by the French Chief of the Defense Staff, the admiral Édouard Guillaud. These reinforcements (an additional OMLT) arrived in October 2010, bringing the number of French forces in Afghanistan to 4,000.. The remaining troops are to be withdrawn by the end of 2012 .
• Germany – 4,900 Total makes Germany the third-largest troop contributor to ISAF. Germany leads Regional Command North based in Mazar-i-Sharif. The task of the German forces is to assist the Afghan government with security and reconstruction in the four northern provinces of Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan and Badakhshan. Germany leads the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the provinces of Kunduz and Badakhshan. The mandate issued by the Bundestag does not allow the Bundeswehr to take part in combat operations against the Taliban insurgency in the south and east of Afghanistan, other than in exceptional circumstances. However, German troops together with allied forces of Regional Command North have conducted own combat operations in northern and northeast Afghanistan, inflicting as many as 650 casualties upon insurgents. Germany has agreed to send 850 additional troops in 2010, raising the mandate ceiling to 5,350 troops. 53 German troops and 3 police officers have been killed in Afghanistan. 156 service members have been wounded in action. In the 2006 German troops controversy, 23 German soldiers were accused of posing with human skulls in Afghanistan. Following the Kunduz airstrike on two captured fuel tankers, which killed over 100 civilians, Germany reclassified the Afghanistan deployment in February 2010 as an "armed conflict within the parameters of international law", allowing German forces to act without risk of prosecution under German law.

• Greece – 122 Some of whom were stationed at Kabul International Airport, while others manned various hospitals.

• Hungary – 337 The Hungarian infantry unit was situated in Kabul, however, on 1 October 2006, Hungary requisitioned its forces and took over responsibility, from the Dutch, for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the town of Pul‑e Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province. Since 1 October 2008, one of the tasks of the Hungarians is to provide security at Kabul International Airport. In 2008 Hungarian special forces deployed to South Afghanistan to special reconnaissance and patrol operations. In 2010 Budapest adds 200 soldiers to the 340 troops it already has in Afghanistan working in reconstruction and training. Six Hungarian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

• Iceland – 6, all stationed at ISAF HQ at Kabul International Airport.

• Italy – 3,816 Italian troops currently lead Regional Command West and the PRT in Herat Province. Although the mandate issued by the Parliament of Italy does not allow Italian forces to take part in the battle against the Taliban insurgency in the south and east of Afghanistan, other than in exceptional circumstances, the former Italian Minister of Defense Ignazio La Russa has officially stated in July 2008 that such combat activities have indeed taken place over the last year in the Farah area. Italian contingent including 9 helicopters Agusta A129 Mangusta, 2 C‑27 Spartan, 1 C‑130, 3 AB‑212, 3 CH‑47. Additionally, in April 2008, 4 AMX International AMX reconnaissance jets and 3 helicopters AB‑412, with corresponding 250 personnel (also included), were deployed to Kabul in support of ISAF combat operations in the country. In February 2009 the Italian government decided to boost its contingent by 800 to help out with police training and economic development. A thousand more soldiers will be sent in Afghanistan in 2010, for 3,800 in total. Italy suffered 45 casualties in Afghanistan.

• Latvia – 175 troops divided between Kabul and the PRTs in Mazar-i-Sharif and Meymaneh as of December 2007. A number of special operations forces operate in the restive south. Three Latvian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

• Lithuania – 245 In June 2005, ISAF established in Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor province, a Lithuanian PRT in which Danish, US and Icelandic troops also serve. A number of special operations forces operate in the restive south. One Lithuanian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. Lithuanian special forces were sent south to help the British forces in their spring offensive.

• Luxembourg – 10 after 22 December 2009. Luxembourg is working together with Belgium in BELU ISAF 13. The Luxembourgian squad is integrated in a Belgian platoon (two NCOs and seven soldiers) and provides one officer to the staff of the Force Protection group at KAIA.

• Netherlands – 274 As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Netherlands deployed aircraft as part of the European Participating Air Force (EPAF) in support of ground operations in Afghanistan as well as Dutch naval frigates to police the waters of the Middle East/Indian Ocean. The Netherlands deployed further troops and helicopters to Afghanistan in 2006 as part of a new ISAF security operation in the south of the country. Dutch ground and air forces totaled almost 2,000 personnel during 2006, taking part in combat operations alongside British and Canadian forces as part of NATO's ISAF force in the south. The Netherlands announced in December 2007 that it would begin withdrawing its Dutch Armed Forces troops from Afghanistan, mainly in the province of Uruzgan, in July 2010. Last minute negotiations in February 2010 after a further NATO request did not change this stance, and there was a handover of command to the United States and Australia on 1 August 2010, formally ending the Dutch military mission, though a redeployment task force would remain for the rest of the year to complete the return of vehicles and other equipment to the Netherlands.

• Norway – 525 Norwegian ISAF forces are divided between Meymaneh in Faryab province where they lead a Provincial Reconstruction Team and Mazar-i-Sharif, where they operate alongside Swedish forces. Four Royal Norwegian Air Force F‑16s operated from Kabul airport alongside Dutch F‑16s in support of NATO ISAF forces in southern Afghanistan during 2006. Decisions have been made to reinforce the Norwegian contribution with 150 special forces, three Bell 412 helicopters armed with door-mounted machine guns and around 60 personnel from 339 Squadron – code named Norwegian Aeromedical Detachment (NAD) – to be based at Camp Meymaneh for 18 months from 1 April 2008, and 50 troops tasked with training Afghan soldiers. As of March 2008 the deployment of the special forces unit has not been confirmed due to internal disagreements in the Norwegian cabinet, with the Socialist Left Party opposed to the mission. After the attack on the Serena Hotel on 14 January 2008, the decision was made to send a team of military explosives experts to Kabul. Building new compounds for ANA has been one way the Norwegian ISAF contribution has supported the modernisation and expansion of the Afghan military. Nine Norwegian soldiers have been killed in action.

• Poland – 2,457 Polish brigade-level Task Force White Eagle is responsible for the south-eastern province of Ghazni. The task force is based in 5 different locations around the province: FOB Warrior, COP Qarabagh, FB Giro, FB Four Corners and FOB Ghazni. The Polish contingent operates 70 Rosomak wheeled armoured vehicles and 40 Cougars on loan from the United States. Additionally, 4 Mil Mi‑24 and 4 Mil Mi‑17 are in use. In December 2009, the Polish Ministry of Defence announced that as of April 2010 it would dispatch additional 60 Rosomaks, 5 Mi‑17 and 600 troops. The contingent will also include 400 backup troops based in Poland who could be deployed in Afghanistan at short notice to bring the total number of Polish soldiers operating under ISAF to almost 3,000. In March 2010, the Polish MoD announced that one battalion of the American 101st Airborne Division would be dispatched to Ghazni and would operate under Polish command. Thirty-seven Polish troops have been killed in Afghanistan. Two Polish ISAF SOF units TF‑49 and TF‑50 are responsible for Special Operations in Province Ghazni.

• Portugal – 133 The national participation in operations in Afghanistan began in February 2002. A military health detachment composed of the three branches of the Armed Forces remained in Kabul for 3 months in a British campaign hospital of the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force). Followed by a C‑130 Detachment who acted from Karachi (Pakistan), between April and July of that year. NATO took over leadership of ISAF in 2003, and in May 2004, Portugal became involved in this new mission with a C‑130 Detachment and supporting staff of the Portuguese Air Force, as meteorologists, firefighters, drivers, based at Kabul International Airport (KAIA). After finishing this mission for 1 year, in August 2005, the Portuguese Air Force took command of KAIA with several of its services (for a period of 3 months), but now without aircraft. The Portuguese Army began between June and August 2005 the task of Quick Reaction Force (QRF) of the ISAF Command with a light infantry company (alternated 4 Commandos companies and 2 of Paratroopers), and a TACP Detachment of the Air Force. Officers and sergeants of the three branches have served in the ISAF HQ and other regional structures, more or less discreet. Between late July 2008 and mid-December a detachment of the Portuguese Air Force, incorporating a C‑130 and support staff in various specialties, like maintenance and force protection, totaling some 40 soldiers, met the new mission from Kabul. In addition to a serious injured and several light injureds, the Portuguese army have suffered two dead, the Commando Sergeant João Paulo Roma Pereira on 18 November 2005 and the Paratrooper Soldier Sérgio Miguel Vidal Oliveira Pedrosa on 24 November 2007. The Portuguese forces for 2012 are: a Military Intelligence Cell, an Army Military Advisor Team for Afghan Capital Division HQ, 2 Air Force Advisor Teams, one for Afghan Air Force Academy and the other for Kabul International Airport, one GNR (gendarmerie type police) Advisor Team at National Police Training Center, in Wardak, Army Police and Navy Marines in service with Kabul International Airport Force Protection and a Support Unit for Portuguese forces with a Protection Company (2 Commando Platoons) and a Logistic Platoon (Maintenance, Health and communications).

• Romania – 1,843 Force consists of a battalion in Qalat, Zabul Province. Additionally, a special forces squad (39 personnel) operates from Tagab in Kapisa Province, and a training detachment of 47 personnel is in Kabul under the U.S.‑led Operation Enduring Freedom. In January 2010, the Supreme Homeland Defense Council of Romania announced to send 600 more troops to Afghanistan, boosting its military presence there to more than 1,600 soldiers. Romania suffered 19 casualties in Afghanistan.

• Slovakia – 331 In 2007 on request of NATO command Slovak forces were moved from Kabul to operate in southern Afghanistan. Currently there are 165 guard soldiers providing force protection at Kandahar Airbase. 57 personnel of Multirole engineer company located in Kandahar Airport. Responsible for demining, building and repairing the airport. 53 soldiers of mechanized infantry are holding outpost in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan Province. 15 personnel are in OMLT team, 4 explosives disposal specialists are part of EOD PALADIN‑S Team. 2 personnel are part of reconstruction team in Tarim Kowt. Twelve officers are members of commanding staff in - HQ ISAF IJC, RC-S, KAF a PALADIN. 15 personnel are part of the National Support Element (NSE) in Kandahar Airport. In September 2011, 20 soldiers of 5th Special Forces Regiment were deployed to Afghanistan to help with mentoring and training of Afghan National Police personnel.

• Slovenia – 89 troops (including two civilians – CIMIC programme) performing OMLT tasks (mentoring an Infantry Battalion in Bala Boluk and joint mentoring with Italian army of a Combat Support Battalion in Herat) and placing some commanding positions in Regional Command West and ISAF HQ.

• Spain – 1,481 troops. The collective Spanish military contribution to ISAF is known as ASPFOR. Spanish forces are divided between Herat Province, where they form a quick-reaction company, an instructors team for Afghan National Army training and a Combat Search & Rescue unit; Kabul, and Badghis Province, where they lead PRT Qala-i-Naw. The deployment involves engineers, infantry, a transport helicopters unit, and a logistics component. Spanish soldiers are constrained by caveats. The mandate issued by the Spanish Parliament does not allow Spanish forces neither to engage Taliban insurgents unless being directly attacked first, nor to move into the south and east of Afghanistan. Spain has rejected three times to lead the ISAF when its shift to do so has come.

• Turkey – 1,327 troops. Turkey's responsibilities include providing security in Kabul (it currently leads RC Capital), as well as in Wardak Province, where it leads PRT Maidan Shahr. Turkey was once the third largest contingent within the ISAF. Turkey's troops are not engaged in combat operations and Ankara has long resisted pressure from Washington to offer more combat troops. In December 2009, after the US President Obama announced he would deploy 30,000 more U.S. soldiers, and that Washington wants others to follow suit, the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, reacted with the message that Turkey would not contribute additional troops to Afghanistan. "Turkey has already done what it can do by boosting its contingent of soldiers there to 1,750 from around 700 without being asked", said Erdogan, who stressed that Turkey would continue its training of Afghan security forces.

• United Kingdom – 9,500 troops deployed in Helmand Province. The Royal Air Force and Army Air Corps have a major presence in and around the country, including BAE Harrier II GR7 and GR9 attack jets, MQ‑9 Reaper UAVs, C‑130 Hercules cargo planes, CH‑47 Chinook transport helicopters, Nimrod surveillance planes, Westland Lynx utility helicopters and Westland WAH-64 Apache attack helicopters. They are officially there to help train Afghan security forces, facilitate reconstruction, and provide security, but in 2006, the situation in the north of Helmand turned increasingly violent, with British troops involved in fierce firefights against the Taliban and anti-coalition militia, particularly in the towns of Sangin, Musa Qala, Kajaki and Nawzad. According to the BBC, on the 30 November 2009 Gordon Brown has announced an increase in British troop numbers, which will bring the total to 10,000 personnel, (500 extra ground troops, and 500 Special Forces) additionally more modified Merlin helicopters will be deployed. The MoD have stated that all the equipment is ready for such a deployment. The deployment would mean British troop levels in the theatre will be the highest since the invasion in 2001.

• United States – 68,000