LONDON, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Ministry of Defense (MOD)has failed to adequately supply its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, said a report published Tuesday by the Public Accounts Committee.

    Since July 2007, only 57 percent of the demands made in Afghanistan and 71 percent of the demands made in Iraq were met by the supply chain, the report said.

    The report also found ground vehicles and helicopters had suffered from shortages of spare parts, and cannibalization of helicopters to support the fleets deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan had contributed to an 11-percent shortfall in helicopters available for training and for supporting contingent operations.

    The committee has been examining the availability of equipment and spares, the re-supply of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the training of service personnel for operations.

    Committee Chairman Edward Leigh said in the report: "The MOD has had some successes in providing support for our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan: notably, the delivery of life-saving medical treatment at the front line. But there are important areas where the process is creaking.

    "(That) the MOD continues to fail to meet its own supply chain targets is of concern. The department must improve its logistic information systems so that it always knows where stocks are and can fully track through the supply chain their movement to our troops," Leigh added.

    Britain has deployed forces in Iraq since 2003 as part of the U.S.-led multinational force. On April 30, the British government announced the end of combat missions in Iraq and the number of British troops had reduced to around 3,700 as part of the planned drawback.

    British forces have been deployed to Afghanistan since 2002. The MOD currently has around 8,300 service personnel there as part of a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

    The combination of long distances between both Iraq and Afghanistan and Britain, as well as the lack of direct maritime access to Afghanistan, complicate the transportation of personnel and equipment.

    Undertaking operations in these countries means coping with difficult environmental conditions, including harsh and varied terrain, extreme temperatures and dust.

    In Afghanistan, the pace and intensity of operations continues to be high against a significant and determined threat. The chairman said the support the MOD provided to forces deployed for operations was crucial in enabling military capability.