London: Prince Harry is being withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately, the Defence Ministry said on Friday, after news leaked on the Internet that he had been secretly fighting on the front lines for 10 weeks.
Harry, 23, the grandson of the Queen and third in line to the throne, was sent to Afghanistan in December, but the British media maintained a blackout on reporting the deployment under an agreement with the Ministry of Defence.
That agreement collapsed on Thursday after Web sites in Australia, Germany and the United States leaked the news.
"Following a detailed assessment of the risks by the operational chain of command, the decision has been taken ... to withdraw Prince Harry from Afghanistan immediately," the ministry said in a statement.
"This decision has been taken primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those who are deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual soldier."
Harry, the son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, has been active during his 10 weeks of combat, calling in air strikes against Taliban positions, carrying out foot patrols and firing a heavy-duty machine gun at suspected fighters.
Commanders described him as a "model soldier" and were quick to praise his bravery. It is the first time a royal has been deployed in combat since the Falklands war 25 years ago, when Harry's uncle Prince Andrew flew helicopters.
But now that knowledge of Harry's role is widely known, there are concerns he could become a target of the Taliban, al Qaeda or other Islamist militants operating in the country. As well as his safety there are concerns for his regiment.
When it was announced last year that he could be deployed to Iraq, militant groups there threatened to kidnap or kill him. The deployment was later cancelled due to the threats.
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