Troops set to return from Libya

British troops involved in operations against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime are poised to return home after the former Libyan dictator was captured and killed.

Between 800 and 1,000 members of UK forces - primarily RAF pilots, their support crews and Royal Navy personnel - are deployed on the Nato-led campaign.

The British aircraft and ships currently taking part in the mission include:

:: RAF Tornado fighter jets based at Gioia del Colle air base in south-eastern Italy;

:: RAF VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling tankers based at Trapani on the western tip of Sicily and in the UK;

:: RAF Sentry and Sentinel surveillance aircraft based in Italy;

:: HMS Liverpool, a Type 42 destroyer;

:: HMS Bangor, a Sandown class minehunter.

British personnel are also stationed at Poggio Renatico, home to one of Nato's Combined Air Operations Centres, and in Naples, headquarters of the coalition's Libya mission.

PA