Taliban says Prince Harry should help rather than kill people in Afghanistan

Kabul - Prince Harry should be using his royal position in Afghanistan to help people rather than kill them, the Taliban have said.

"A prince should use his position to help people, not to come and kill people around the world,” the Telegraph quoted a Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, as saying.

The spokesperson warned that its insurgents would use all their power to kill or capture the Prince as they continued to resist the British forces in Helmand.

The statement comes in the wake of the Prince qualifying as an Apache attack helicopter pilot.

The Prince will fly missions from Camp Bastion in Helmand as a co-pilot gunner in a two-man crew, operating weapons, including Hellfire missiles and a 30mm chain gun.

The Prince had spent 10 weeks as an infantry officer in Helmand in 2008 under a media blackout to protect him from being singled out for attack by the Taliban.

The British Ministry of Defence has, however decided agianst a blackout saying he will be far less vulnerable as a pilot than he was four years ago.

The date for his deployment is still unclear as it would be subject to review by senior generals and even British Prime Minister David Cameron until the last minute.