Trigger happy Prince Harry 'must have mental problems', says Taliban

Prince Harry at the controls of an Apache helicopter (PA)

Prince Harry has incurred the wrath of critics both home and abroad after describing how he killed insurgents while serving in Afghanistan.

In a series of interviews to mark the end of his four-month tour, the Prince, 28, said he had taken members of the Taliban “out of the game” during his posting in Helmand. “Take a life to save a life. That’s what we revolve around, I suppose.”

The Taliban labelled him a “coward” for speaking out only after he had left the country, claiming the third in line to the throne “has probably developed a mental problem” as a result of playing too many computer games.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said: “This statement is not even worth condemning. It is worse than that. To describe the war in Afghanistan as a game demeans anyone – especially a prince.”

In Britain, the Stop the War Coalition said his comments were “arrogant and insulting” and questioned how Prince Harry, who served as co-pilot in an Apache attack helicopter, knew the men he had killed were Taliban members. “In recent months many civilians have been killed by air strikes. This arrogant and insensitive attitude to killing Afghans, is hardly likely to win hearts and minds – a supposed aim of the war,” said Lindsey German.