Prince Harry deployed in Afghanistan

Prince Harry has been serving with the British army in Afghanistan for two-and-a-half months, the Defence Ministry said yesterday. Following leaks in the international media about his deployment, officials are now reviewing whether he should remain there.

Prince Harry has been serving with the British army in Afghanistan for two-and-a-half months, the Defence Ministry said yesterday. Following leaks in the international media about his deployment, officials are now reviewing whether he should remain there. Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, was sent to Afghanistan with his regiment in December.

The 23-year-old was due to be sent to Iraq but those plans were scrapped in May. His deployment was cancelled after it was decided it would be too dangerous for the second son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.

Militant groups threatened to kidnap or kill him after it was made known that his regiment could be deployed to Iraq.

The Ministry of Defence determined he could be deployed to Afghanistan if his presence there was not reported. For the past10 weeks, British and international media have maintained an embargo on reporting his activities. Prince Harry has been responsible for calling in air strikes against Taliban positions in the dangerous southern Afghanistan province of Helmand, has conducted foot patrols through local villages and has fired on suspected enemy combatants, pool photographs and footage have shown.

The head of the army, General Richard Dannatt, issued a statement expressing his disappointment that the embargo had been broken by foreign media websites, including some in the US and Germany.

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