Prince Harry’s claim he killed 25 Taliban ‘baddies’ in Afghanistan draws ire

In a book full of startling revelations, Prince Harry’s claim that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan was one of the most surprising – and drew criticism from enemies and allies alike.

In his memoirs, spare, Harry said he killed more than two dozen Taliban militants while serving as an Apache helicopter gunner in Afghanistan in 2012-2013. He wrote that he felt no complacency or shame about his actions, and in the heat of battle regarded enemy combatants as pieces removed from a chessboard: “Baddies are eliminated before they can kill the Goodies.”

Harry has spoken out before about his combat experience, saying at the end of the tour in 2013 that “if anyone tries to do something bad to the guys, we’ll take them out of the game.”

But his decision to put down the numbers killed, and compare them to chess pieces, drew the attention of the Taliban, and concern from British veterans.

“Mr. Harry! The people you killed are not chess pieces, they are human beings; they have families waiting to return,” prominent Taliban member Anas Haqqani wrote on Twitter.

The Taliban, who adhere to a strict interpretation of Islam, will return to power when Western forces withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said Harry’s comments “are a microcosm of the trauma the Afghan people have suffered at the hands of the occupying forces. an innocent person without responsibility.”

In Britain, some veterans and military leaders say publishing the head count violates the military’s unspoken code.

Colonel Tim Collins, who led a British battalion during the Iraq war, told Forces News that the statement “isn’t how we do it in the Army; it’s not how we think.” Retired Royal Navy officer Admiral Chris Parry called the statement “distasteful.”

Some questioned whether Harry could be sure of the toll, but Harry said he checked the video of the mission, and “in the age of Apaches and laptops,” technology gave him an exact figure of how many enemy fighters were killed.

Others said Harry’s words could increase security risks for him and British forces around the world.

“I don’t think it’s wise for him to speak out loud,” Royal Marines veteran Ben McBean, who has known Harry since his military days, told Sky News. “He’s got a target on his back, more than anyone else.”

Retired Army Colonel Richard Kemp told the BBC that this statement is “an error of judgment” that will be “potentially valuable to those who want British forces and the British government to be harmed.”

Harry lost the protection of the publicly funded British police when he and his wife Meghan stepped down from royal duties in 2020. Harry sued the British government for not allowing him to pay privately for police security when he arrived in the UK.

Tens of thousands of British troops served in Afghanistan, and more than 450 died, between the US-led invasion in 2001 and the end of British combat operations in 2014.

Harry spent a decade in the British Army, serving twice in Afghanistan. He spent 10 weeks as an advanced air controller in 2007-2008 until a media leak cut short his tour.

He retrained as a helicopter pilot with the British Army Air Corps so he could have a chance to return to the front lines. They are part of two-way crews whose duties range from supporting ground forces in firefights to accompanying helicopters when evacuating wounded soldiers.

Harry described his time in the army as the happiest of his life because it allowed him to be “one of the boys” rather than a prince. After leaving the military in 2015, he founded the Invictus Games, an international sports competition for sick and wounded veterans.

Harry’s memoirs will be published worldwide on Tuesday. The Associated Press obtained an early Spanish-language copy.