Prince Harry doesn’t raise risk of attack to fellow soldiers, insists MoD after weekend of bloodshed

September 17th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Helicopter pilot prince was ushered to safe place by SAS bodyguards
He was ordered to wear body armour and load his weapon
Major security review to probe how Taliban were able to breach security

By
Ian Drury

PUBLISHED:

17:18 EST, 16 September 2012

|

UPDATED:

04:09 EST, 17 September 2012

Taliban target: Prince Harry walks the asphalt by an Apache helicopter at Camp Bastion, Helmand

Prince Harry will continue his deployment to Afghanistan despite the Taliban assault on the camp where he is based.

The attack came at the start of a weekend of bloodshed in the warzone.

Five British soldiers were injured and two US Marines killed when 15 insurgents armed with AK47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades stormed the allies’ supposedly impregnable fortress Camp Bastion.

The 28-year-old prince, serving as a co-pilot gunner in the Army’s Apache helicopters, was a mile and a half from the firefight on Friday night. He was taken by SAS bodyguards to a secure location in the 20-square-mile base.

The prince – known as Captain Harry Wales in the Army – was ordered to wear body armour and carry a loaded gun while the three-hour battle raged against Taliban fighters dressed in stolen American uniforms.

The attack happened during a bloody 72 hours of escalating violence across Afghanistan in which coalition troops were killed by their supposed local allies:

Two British soldiers were shot dead on Saturday by a rogue Afghan policeman who lured them to his side with a fake injury before opening fire;
An Afghan policeman killed four US troops yesterday at a remote checkpoint and then fled;
Nato is investigating claims that one of its airstrikes killed eight women and girls gathering firewood.

During Friday’s attack on Camp Bastion, all but one of the Taliban raiders were killed, but not before they destroyed six US Harrier jump jets and three refuelling stations.

It has prompted a major review of security to find out how the insurgents managed to penetrate the heavily-fortified base.

The Taliban claimed the attack targeted Prince Harry, who arrived in Afghanistan with 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, 11 days ago.

They also said the assault was revenge for a US-made film that insults the prophet Mohammed. But a senior Army source said the attack appeared to have been planned for weeks – before it was known that Harry was going to war.

‘They are linking the attack with Captain Wales’s presence for propaganda,’ he said. ‘They are deluded.

‘After saying this attack was mounted in reaction to the video on Islam, it is entirely predictable that the Taliban have changed their tune to say it was aimed at Captain Wales.’

Ushered to safety: When the attack on the base
began, Prince Harry was ordered to don body armour, load his weapon and was taken to a safe place by SAS bodyguards

Military chiefs refused to withdraw Harry from the warzone, insisting his presence did not increase the risk to himself or his comrades.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘The deployment of Captain Wales has been long planned and the threat to him and others around him thoroughly assessed.’

Major Charles Heyman, a former infantry officer and editor of The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, warned against ‘playing into the hands of the Taliban’.

He said: ‘On balance it is a difficult equation but I think he should be kept there. If we take him away the Taliban will crow that they have just scored a major victory.

‘It would affect the morale of the troops on the ground if Prince Harry was taken out just because there was a threat.’

On deployment: The 28-year-old royal arrived in Afghanistan with 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, 11 days ago. Military chiefs have insisted his presence does not increase the risk to his comrades

Pilot: Harry is trained to fly Apache helicopters, some of the most deadly aircraft in Afghanistan

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, said: ‘I do not believe that Harry’s presence in Afghanistan increases the threat to our troops.

‘Obviously if they did succeed in getting him it would be a major coup for them, but even that risk is worth taking for the benefit of having a member of the Royal family fighting with our soldiers.

‘His presence there boosts morale of our men and shows that we as a nation are unafraid.’

Meanwhile, two soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment were lured to their death by a traitor Afghan policeman, it has emerged.

The uniformed man pretended to be injured at a checkpoint in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand on Saturday. But as the patrol approached him, he shot and killed them. He was killed in return fire.

The number of Nato soldiers killed in so-called ‘green on blue’ attacks stands at more than 50 for this year alone, including nine British soldiers – about a quarter of the UK’s dead since January.

It also emerged that an Afghan police officer shot and killed four American troops at a remote checkpoint in the south of the country yesterday.

The killings followed the death of Lance Corporal Duane Groom, of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, who was killed in Nahr-e Saraj on Friday after his vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

The 32-year-old, from Fiji, was described as an ‘outstanding soldier in every respect’.

In another blow for the Coalition, Afghan officials claimed a Nato airstrike killed eight women and girls as young as ten as they gathered firewood before dawn in the eastern province of Laghman.

Nato initially said 45 insurgents and no civilians were killed in the attack, but a spokesman later said it was investigating the allegations.

By
Ian Drury

Darkness had fallen on Camp Bastion and Prince Harry was relaxing with fellow Apache helicopter pilots.

Some were reading, others chatting. All were enjoying their ‘down-time’ amid the hectic schedule of flying missions against the Taliban.

Suddenly the peace of the Afghan night was shattered as a terrifying message boomed from the tannoys dotted around the military fortress.

Enlarge

‘Bastion is under ground attack,’ a voice repeated, calmly but urgently. Troops were ordered into what the military calls ‘lockdown’ – a carefully rehearsed plan to deal with emergencies. With a member of the Royal family in their midst, other contingencies also kicked into action.

Like his colleagues, Captain Harry Wales donned body armour and a helmet and picked up a loaded firearm. But he was then quickly escorted by a team of specially-assigned SAS bodyguards to a secure location in the camp.

His fellow Apache pilots and other specialist crews were also kept in lockdown in safe areas, although without the SAS bodyguards.

Military chiefs have drawn up detailed plans on how to respond to keep the 28-year-old officer safe in the event of attack. It is understood that on this occasion, however, it was not necessary to trigger the absolute worst-case-scenario procedure.

A source at Camp Bastion said: ‘There was no messing about. Harry was taken straight to the safe place as soon as the alarm went off. He was ready for a fight and would have taken on the Taliban but he had to follow the plan.

‘If anything happened to him it would have been a disaster.’

Base: Camp Bastion is the British headquarters in Helmand province (file photo)

Security: An armoured vehicle patrols on the periphery of Camp Bastion, where insurgents where able to blow a hole in the wall before launching an attack on British and U.S. forces

Even though Harry and the Apache crews were a mile and a half from the attack, they could hear the rattle of machine gun fire, exploding rocket-propelled grenades and the crump of mortars.

A few minutes earlier, shortly after 10pm local time on Friday, insurgents had launched the raid on Camp Bastion, the sprawling and supposedly impregnable desert headquarters in Helmand Province.

Disguised in stolen US military uniforms and armed with AK47 automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 15 Taliban split into three teams for the attack.

It is believed one insurgent detonated a suicide vest, blowing a 5ft hole in the 30ft-high perimeter fence that rings the camp. This allowed the rest of the enemy fighters to stream into the 20-square-mile fortress, which includes Camp Leatherneck, home to the US Army, and Camp Shorabak, the main Afghan National Army base in Helmand.

The raiders evaded surveillance and attacked the south-east of the camp, where the US Marines have their air base.

Described as ‘well equipped, trained and rehearsed’, the enemy began attacking US warplanes and helicopters.

Prize target: Fifteen insurgents, working in three teams of five, managed to destroy six US AV-8B Harrier jump jets and three refuelling stations. All but one died in the attack

When challenged, the insurgents shot dead two US Marines. As the alarm spread, 50 troops from 5 RAF Force Protection Wing (51 Squadron RAF), the RAF Regiment, sped to the battle in light armoured vehicles.

The gun battle continued for three hours. Six US AV-8B Harrier jump jets and three refuelling stations were destroyed.

By the time the firefight ended, around 1am local time on Saturday, 14 insurgents lay dead. One survived and was taken to the hospital for treatment and then into custody.

Five British troops were injured, with some understood to have been wounded when a gunman triggered his suicide vest.

The comments below have not been moderated.

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If only every soldier had the luxury of being ushered to a safe place by SAS bodyguards!

–

Oswald Smith
,

London, United Kingdom,
17/9/2012 20:19

This small group of insurgents did a heck of a job breaking into the base and sneaking up on the marines. Explain to me while we still think we need to stay there to train Afghan soldiers. Sounds like they could be teaching, not training. Bring everybody home and let Afghanistan fend for itself as it has for thousands of years.

–

pugglemom
,

Phoenix, United States,
17/9/2012 19:32

If they want to improve his chances of not being hit…the MOD should supply him with some taxpayer funded hair dye:)

–

LORNAO
,

LONDON, United Kingdom,
17/9/2012 18:45

——————————— He’s not a soldier, he’s a pilot. And he should be sheltered during an attack on the base just like we Americans shelter our pilots when our air bases are attacked. ——————————– You don’t spend 10s of millions of dollars training and equipping a pilot to have him stand in the front line trenches with the lowest level grunts. ———————————- Everyone in the military has a job to do. Perimeter security is NOT his job, being a helicopter pilot is.

–

Completely Average
,

Somewhere, United States,
17/9/2012 17:51

If he is a soldier and there to fight along with the rest of the soldiers, then why is he being whisked away into protection?? He should be subject to all the same risks that the non-royal soldiers are subjected too. If this becomes a distraction that the other troops have to worry about the Prince’s safety instead of focusing on what they are really deployed to do, then what’s the point of the Prince serving in active duty. He’s either a soldier or he’s not. If he is merely a figurehead, then send him home and he can “serve” from the safety of the Palace walls.

–

Baila2
,

Scottsdale, United States,
17/9/2012 17:16

Your prince is a far braver man than most of you.

–

Completely Average
,

Somewhere, United States,
17/9/2012 16:42

As long as their is a multi million bounty on his head he and the rest of his company will be in grave danger.

–

Hagar
,

layton, United Kingdom,
17/9/2012 16:39

Realistically,all this ‘ military ‘ stuff with Harry is just PR for the lad.I’m very fond of the Royal Family but this is a bit like playing cowboys and Indians.A few years down the road he’ll be given the uniform of a General so there has to be a semblance of a military apprentice now.

–

Alfred Saxon
,

West Sussex,
17/9/2012 16:25

I love the way all these know-all arm chair soldiers put the oar in. Keep quiet, if the real soldiers are happy working along side him that is all that matters.
– Lady Pikington-Smyth , Wales, United Kingdom, 17/9/2012 13:12

Could be you’re something of a” know-all armchair soldier” yourself; the sad fact is the powers that be don’t care whether or not the REAL soldiers you mention are HAPPY, they don’t get a choice ! They just have to put up with him and get on with this PR stunt.

–

Solamore
,

Malaga,
17/9/2012 16:23

Last week, they were telling us that the Taliban will never down a coalition forces aircraft, this weekend we have seen them put about 250m of fighter planes beyond repair by throwing their rocks and cellphones at them 🙂

–

LORNAO
,

LONDON, United Kingdom,
17/9/2012 16:21

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