Taliban accuses Harry of war crimes after he admits killing 25 in Afghanistan
A senior Taliban leader has told Prince Harry that the militants he killed in Afghanistan were "not chess pieces, they were humans".
In the highly-anticipated memoir, Harry wrote of blasting away enemy insurgents during six combat missions.
He recalled the "taking of human lives" as he confessed to not thinking of those he killed "as people" but as "chess pieces" to be taken off the board while serving on the Helman frontlines as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner.
In response to the prince's controversial claims, Taliban warlord Anas Haqqani tweeted: "Mr Harry! 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."
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The prince claims to have shot dead 25 fighters, adding that he didn't think of them as "people" while manning the gun.
He adds: "It was not something that filled me with satisfaction, but I was not ashamed either."
The Taliban warlord called Harry a war criminal (Getty Images)
The Taliban has accused Prince Harry of war crimes after he admitted killing 25 in Afghanistan (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)Another Taliban commander, Molavi Agha Gol, 32, also ripped into the prince - saying that he "needs a doctor" and that his memoir is a mission in attention seeking.
The "Mujaheddin", who the prince called "chess pieces", reign victorious, Gol said, while Harry struggles to keep his place in the royal fold.
Speaking from an Iranian border town called Islam Qala, the commander told the MailOnline: "We are still here ruling but he has fled to his grandmother's palace. He's a big mouth loser who has been trying to get attention.
"I do not even believe what he said about the Mujaheddin. He is a loser and scared to go to a combat zone. We made history by kicking him and his army out of our homeland and he should be very angry about that.
"Do not believe whatever losers tell you. I see news about him a lot on my Facebook feed and really think he's gone mad and needs a doctor immediately."
Representative of the Taliban political office Anas Haqqani in Kabul, Afghanistan (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/REX/Shutterstock)The commander also refuted the prince's claim of killing so many of their soldiers, who the Taliban considers martyrs. He added that Harry's soldier pals will be burning in hell.
At the end of the tirade, he sniped at the Duke of Sussex's masculinity, saying he isn't man enough to return to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a former senior military officer said Harry's comments were "ill-judged" and could lead to attacks on Brit soldiers overseas.
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Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded the British forces in Afghanistan in 2003, said the claim that Brit soldiers see their enemy as subhuman was particularly risky.
Harry was stationed in Afghanistan in 2012 and 2013 (Getty Images)He said Harry's remarks "were probably ill-judged for two reasons. One is his suggestion that he killed 25 people will have reincited those people who wish him harm."
The colonel, who retired in 2006, told Sky News his issue was that Harry "characterised" the British Army as training him to consider the enemy as less than human, which he said is not the case.
He added that the comments could lead to attacks on British soldiers overseas or even turn Harry into more of a target because he "resurrected" memories of the war.
The colonel believes the memoir will damage Harry's reputation and the public's opinion of the armed forces.
Usually, former servicemen would discuss how many people they have killed "privately" or "with their own comrades", Col Kemp said.
A group of Taliban soldiers patrolling Kabul shortly after they conquered Kabul in September 2021 (STRINGER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)But due to many of the killings happening at long range with drones or other military equipment, many soldiers won't know their exact grim kill tally.
Harry's position as a prince means he may have access to a lot more information than other regular combatants, the colonel said.
Former national security adviser Lord Darroch said he'd advise the prince against going into that kind of detail.
"But it's out there now," he said.
"In terms of the detail I personally wouldn't have gone there, but it's done now."
The allegations of war crimes aren't the only controversies to arise out of the leaked memoir, with Harry ello
being slammed for revealing "sensitive" information about his time in Afghanistan.
He has been accused of breaking at least four military codes.
The prince shoulders an assault rifle during his tour of Helmand in 2008 (AFP/Getty Images)Major General Chip Chapman, who fought in the Falklands campaign and has been the Senior British Military Advisor to US Central Command, has called Harry and his ghost writer "crassly and naively stupid".
Having the experience of writing his own book, Chapman explained that they require a legal and ethical read to look for any sensitive details on special forces and casualties.
"For him, who wants privacy and security, he's just opened himself up to every jihadist and nutcase out there," he told Times Radio.
Harry was a co-pilot and gunner on an Apache helicopter during his tours in Afghanistan (AFP/Getty Images)Chapman admitted he had never come across "this body count mentality" in the forces, slamming Harry's claim of 25 kills as "slightly ridiculous".
Because the Prince was a Apache pilot who used cannons or missiles from a range some way away from the action, Chapman says there is no way he could ID or bury anyone.
"It's an awful lack of judgement and maturity," he adds. It's a naïve approach to how the military would act. And we talk about jus in bello conduct in war. This is a terrible conduct in peace."
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