By IRNA
London : More than 11,000 American armed forces are stationed at British military bases in the UK, according to the latest available figures.
In a written parliamentary reply published Tuesday, Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth listed a total of 11,115 members of the United States Visiting Force (USVF), including military and their supporting civilian component, at various air bases across England.
The largest was 5,190 from the 48th Fighter Wing at Lakenheath in eastern England and 4,400 from the 100th Air Refuelling Wing at nearby Mildenhall.
At Menwith Hill, in northern England, which is used as the largest electronic monitoring station in the world, there were also 1,400 from the 501st Combat Support Wing, the 421st Air Base Group and National Security Agency.
Last November, Defence Minister Steven Twigg revealed that US forces by far outnumber their British counterpart at Menwith, which has been embroiled in controversy since the UK allowed the US last year to station part of its Star War programme there.
The monitoring station at the base, which is part of a global network relaying information, is run by the US National Security Agency.