Prince Harry Memoir: Duke of Sussex recalls killing 25 in Afghanistan, says he's not 'ashamed' of it

Harry said the army taught him not to view members of the Taliban as people, adding that he is "neither proud nor ashamed” of his kill count.

FPJ Web Desk Updated: Friday, January 06, 2023, 03:20 PM IST
Representational Image | Photo by Jeremy Selwyn / POOL / AFP

Representational Image | Photo by Jeremy Selwyn / POOL / AFP

In his upcoming memoir ‘Spare’, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry has written that he killed more than two dozen people in Afghanistan during his time as a soldier hunting Taliban extremists.

Harry said the army taught him not to view members of the Taliban as people, adding that he is "neither proud nor ashamed” of his kill count as an Apache attack helicopter pilot, reported Telegraph, which has obtained an excerpt of the book

'Essential not to be afraid of that number'

Prince Harry said, "In the era of Apaches and laptops, I was able to come up with exactness how many enemy combatants I had killed. And it seemed to me essential not to be afraid of that number."

The 38-year-old royalty served as forward air controller in the British Royal Army from 2007-2008. Harry also piloted the attack helicopter between 2012-2013, reported Al Jazeera.

"So my number is 25. It's not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me," Prince Harry wrote. Harry said the number came from six missions during his second tour in the country.

Army told Harry that Taliban members were 'chess pieces'

The army engrained in him the idea that the Taliban members he was fighting against were mere "chess pieces", Harry claimed in his memoir.

"I made it my purpose, from day one, to never go to bed with any doubt whether I had done the right thing, whether I had shot at Taliban and only Taliban, without civilians in the vicinity. I wanted to return to Great Britain with all my limbs, but more than that I wanted to get home with my conscience intact," the Duke of Sussex has written.

The memoir by Prince Harry has not been released yet and is slated for next week. However, it dominated headlines on Thursday after a Spanish-language version of the memoir mistakenly went on sale.

It was too late before the copies were hurriedly withdrawn and people from media had already got their hands on the Royalty's memoir.

Published on: Friday, January 06, 2023, 03:20 PM IST

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