Prince Harry reveals his Afghanistan body count and how he watched Taliban fighters die

Prince Harry has told of the dramatic moments he killed Taliban fighters and watched footage of them dying, as war vets react with horror to his admissions.

Prince Harry has revealed he killed 25 people during his time fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Writing in his autobiography Spare, the Duke of Sussex says he is neither proud nor ashamed of “taking human lives” because that was the life of a soldier.

“My number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me,” he wrote.

The exact body count is known because cameras on his chopper recorded the kills after each mission and he would view the footage when he got back to base.

Prince Harry wearing his monocle gun sight as he sits in the front seat of his Apache Helicopter at the British controlled flight-line at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Picture: AFP

He did not think of the 25 as “people” but rather “chess pieces” that had to be taken off the board - and candidly describes the insurgents he killed as “baddies eliminated before they could kill goodies”.

At the time, he justified his actions because of his memory of the horrific September 11 attacks in the United States, and after meeting families of the victims.

“We take a life to save a life,” he said of the killings of the Taliban fighters.

Those responsible and their sympathisers were “enemies of humanity” and fighting them was an act of vengeance for a crime against humanity, he said.

Prince Harry sitting in the cockpit of an Apache Helicopter. Picture: AFP

The Duke of Sussex served two tours of duty against the Taliban, first as a forward air controller calling in air strikes in 2007-2008, then flying the attack helicopter in 2012-2013.

He was “very proud” to serve there for more than two months before his location was leaked.

His first tour was conducted under a strict news blackout for security reasons, which was agreed by British media outlets. He was forced to return home when a foreign publication broke the embargo.

He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant with the Household Cavalry on in April 2008 then retrained as a helicopter pilot in the Army Air Corps.

Harry returned to Afghanistan in 2012 as a co-pilot and gunner at Camp Bastion for 20 weeks before leaving the military in March 2015.

All up he served for 10 years in the British Army, rising to the rank of captain,

Prince Harry has raised concerns about his security since his departure as a working royal, because of his time fighting Islamist extremists.

Prince Harry’s comments have not gone down well with some British military veterans. Picture: AFP

His war admissions have not gone down well with some military veterans who want him

Former Royal Marine Ben McBean, who lost an arm and a leg in a bomb blast during the war, and once called the prince a “hero” urged the Duke to “shut up”.

Mr McBean tweeted today: ‘Love you #PrinceHarry but you need to shut up! Makes you wonder the people he’s hanging around with. If it was good people somebody by now would have told him to stop.’

Originally published as Prince Harry reveals his Afghanistan body count and how he watched Taliban fighters die