Prince Harry ‘among most at risk royals’ from terror plot as Afghanistan military service has made him ‘top target’

PRINCE Harry is one of the most “at risk royals” from terror attacks due to his military service in Afghanistan, which has made him a ‘top target’.

It was revealed by a Taliban fighter that the Duke had been the target of an attack “many times”, and military experts fear the stakes are even higher now.

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A decade ago, Qari Nasrullah, a senior member of the Taliban told The Mirror: “There were many plans to capture him – maybe it was his good luck he managed to escape.”

Yesterday, former SAS soldier Bob Craft told the same newspaper: “As a royal, Prince Harry is clearly a target for kidnapping, terrorism and a whole range of threats.

“But his military service adds to that enormously.

“He will need some form of security for a long time, particularly as it is known he served in Afghanistan and was known to be a target whilst out there.”

Since moving to his new home in America, it has been feared that the Prince may face a larger number of threats – not just from organised terror groups.

During the bombshell interview with chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke of how their security was “cut off” after they quit the royal family.

The couple claim they took up deals with Netflix and Spotify to pay for private security and to find a source of income for his family.

Speaking to Oprah about the streaming deal, the 36-year-old said: “We didn’t have a plan.

“That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us.”

He said: “I’ve got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this.”

Since quitting the Royal Family, Meghan and Harry have signed two massive deals – one with Netflix rumoured to be worth £100m and another with Spotify believed to be worth about £30m.

Harry said: “The biggest concern was that while we were in Canada, in someone else’s house, and then I got told short notice that security was going to be removed.

“So suddenly it dawned on me, hang on a second, the borders could be closed, we’re going to have our security removed, who knows how long lockdown is going to be.

“The world knows where we are. It’s not safe. It’s not secure.”

Military and security experts have confirmed that Harry, who has already been the target of several plots.

Ex Parachute Regiment soldier and security expert Paul Biddiss, military adviser to film directors, told the Daily Mirror: “Ex special forces soldiers have to be discreet about their identities after they leave because they are obviously under threat.

“But Harry did not choose to be a threat, he was born into it as a royal.

“But in America, as we have seen recently, there are also conspiracy theorists, fringe groups, far right-wing networks, all kinds of armed groups who could be a threat.

“Harry will need to be protected as he is one of the, if not the most under threat royals there are. He needs security protection, clearly.”

Prince Harry was stripped of his honorary military titles – including Captain of the Royal Marines – as it was confirmed he and wife Meghan Markle was officially quitting the Royal Family.

It was revealed last week that the decision to block Prince Harry’s Cenotaph wreath may have fuelled the royal rift which eventually led to his bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, it’s claimed.

One source told The Mail on Sunday that Harry felt particularly hurt as he believed his 10 years of service with the military had not been taken into consideration.

“His military work is one of the most important things to him,” a friend told the paper.

Ex-Household Cavalry Lance Corporal Martyn, who served with Harry in Afghanistan, told the MoS: “He was very passionate about what he’d done, he has obviously served his time.

“To have that taken away will be a massive ordeal for him, it’s a big thing that he’s done, and personally I hope it’s worth it for him… he is obviously just looking out for his family.”

However it was later claimed that the Queen made the decision herself – taking “all of two seconds”.

A source said: “The Queen is very firmly of the opinion that you can’t pick and choose what you do when it comes to the institution. Either you are in – or you are out.”

Harry played a vital role in an Afghanistan rescue mission where he “blew the enemy to pieces” has been revealed.

The Apache helicopter co-pilot saved US soldiers who were ambushed in 2012.

He is said to have strafed the Taliban with bullets so the Americans could escape and airlift injured troops to safety.

John Zanetis, 73, from Indiana, whose son Christopher “Tripp” Zanetis was one of those saved, said: “Prince Harry came in with his protection squadron and blew the enemy to pieces.”

Mum Sarah, 63, said: “They provided enough cover for Tripp to get his men loaded on the helicopter. I believe there were Taliban members killed.”

Harry, stationed at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province told the US soldiers afterwards: “See you at New Year’s.”