TALIBAN officials have taunted “loser” Prince Harry after he revealed he killed 25 fighters in his new book Spare.
The militant group raged should be brought before an “international court” after “proudly confessing [the] crime”
Prince Harry makes his early morning pre-flight checks in his helicopter in Afghanistan
Harry served two tours in Afghanistan while in the British Army
Harry revealed in his new book that he flew six missions on his second tour in Afghanistan in 2012 while serving in the British Army.
He claimed he killed 25 Taliban fighters during the war – something which has sparked the brutal group’s fury as it is now back in power in Afghanistan.
Taliban police spokesman Khalid Zadran said: “Prince Harry will always be remembered in Helmand – Afghans will never forget the killing of their innocent countrymen.
“The perpetrators of such crimes will one day be brought to the international court and criminals like Harry who proudly confess their crimes will be brought to the court table in front of the international community.”
He raged at Harry for describing the fighters as “chess pieces” and adding he felt “neither proud nor ashamed”.
Mr Zadran said Harry’s description was “cruel” and “barbaric”.
In his memoir, Harry said he gunned down Taliban militants when he flew Apache helicopters in southern Helmand Province in 2012.
He rewatched films of his kills from the gunship’s nose-mounted camera when he returned to base at Camp Bastion.
Harry said the technology meant: “I could always say precisely how many enemy combatants I’d killed”.
He wrote: “So my number: 25. It wasn’t a number that gave me any satisfaction. But neither was it a number that made me feel ashamed.
“In the heat and fog of combat, I didn’t think of those 25 as people. I’d been trained to ‘other-ize’ them.”
The MoD refused to comment on Harry’s claims he had killed 25 militants.
Harry has also made other claims in his book, including claiming that he got into a physical confrontation with his brother William.
Spare is officially released next week – but leaked copies have already sent shockwaves around the world.
“Occupying forces in Afghanistan used to start operations under nightfall on our villages. Prince Harry was involved in this and he has taken the lives of dozens of defenseless Afghans,” said Mr Zadran.
“The cruel and barbaric actions of Harry and others aroused the Afghan population and led to an armed uprising against them. We call this kind of uprising holy jihad.”
Taliban official Anas Haqqani also fumed at Prince Harry
He said: “The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return.
“Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes.
“The truth is what you’ve said: Our innocent people were chess pieces to your soldiers, military and political leaders.
“Still, you were defeated in that ‘game’ of white & black ‘square’.
“I don’t expect that the ICC will summon you or the human rights activists will condemn you, because they are deaf and blind for you. But hopefully these atrocities will be remembered in the history of humanity.”
Former Colonel Richard Kemp said the wayward heir’s comments were a “betrayal of the people he fought alongside”.
Col Kemp said: “He is suggesting the British Army trains people, including him, not to see the enemy as human beings, which is very far from the truth.
“The Army is extremely careful to differentiate between innocent civilians and fighters on the battlefield.”
He also warned the revelations would increase threats to Harry’s safety – by inciting terrorists’ desires for revenge.
He said: “It undermines his personal security. He has shot himself in the foot.
“Fighting in Afghanistan, Harry gained a very strong reputation both in the Army and in the country.
“These comments will damage that reputation and he won’t be looked on in quite the same light, by people who thought highly of him before, including me.”
He added on Sky News: “This will incite some people to attempt an attack on British soldiers anywhere in the world.
“The impact on his own personal security is even greater.”
Meanwhile Colonel Tim Collins, known for a pre-battle speech he made in Iraq, said Harry’s conduct is “not how we behave in the Army”.
He said: “Harry has now turned against the other family, the military, that once embraced him, having trashed his birth family.”
He also accused Harry of taking a path that is “alien” to those in the UK and the Commonwealth, adding that the duke is “pursuing US identity politics and casting slurs or racism around where none exists”.
“I wonder whose path he has chosen? In the end I see only disappointment and misery in his pursuit of riches he does not need and his rejection of family and comradely love that he badly needs,” he said.
And Harry’s hero Ben McBean – who lost an arm and leg in Afghanistan – has also been critical of the prince’s revelations.
The ex-Royal Marine said: “Love you Prince Harry but you need to shut up!
“Makes you wonder about the people he’s hanging around with. If they were good people somebody by now would have told him to stop.”
On Good Morning Britain he added: “You just don’t really speak about it. It’s between the guys who were there.
“Civilians don’t need to know what you were up to there.
“For him he’s in America, he’s got security. There’s a reason why you don’t get into it. You kind of just know not to do it.”
