The Taliban administration has criticized Prince Harry after the British royal said in his memoirs that he had killed 25 people in Afghanistan while serving as a military helicopter pilot, describing them as “chess pieces removed from the board”.
Harry’s very personal book, “Spare”, went on sale in Spain days before its global launch on January 10. depth of the rift between the prince and his brother Williamthe heir to the throne, and other revelations such as drug use and how he lost his virginity.
In one section, the 38-year-old recounts his two tours of Afghanistan, first as a forward air controller in 2007/08 and again in 2012, when he was a gunner co-pilot in Apache attack helicopters, and the number of people he had killed.
“It wasn’t a statistic that made me proud but it didn’t leave me ashamed either,” Harry wrote, according to the Spanish version of the book.
“When I found myself in the heat and confusion of combat, I didn’t think of those 25 as people.
“They were chess pieces removed from the board, bad people eliminated before they could kill the good people.”
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the Taliban-led Afghan Foreign Ministry, criticized the comments.
“The Western occupation of Afghanistan is truly a hateful moment in human history and Prince Harry’s comments are a microcosm of the trauma experienced by Afghans at the hands of occupying forces who murdered innocents without accountability,” he said.
When asked about Harry’s comments, a spokesman for Britain’s Defense Ministry said: “We do not comment on operational details for security reasons.”
Representatives for Prince Harry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The book’s release, from a member of a family that tightly controls personal information about the royals, follows Harry and his American wife Meghan’s departure from royal duties in 2020 to move to California and forge a new life.
Since then, the couple has been harshly critical of the House of Windsor and the British press.
As is customary in the royal family, spokesmen for King Charles and Prince William declined to comment.
British media have scrutinized the details of the books, but many people commuting to work in London on Friday said they were not interested and did not want to talk about it.
Some of those who were willing to talk said they thought Harry had gone too far.
“I think he’s an idiot,” said Robin Parker, a businessman. “My father was in World War II and I once asked him as a child if he had killed anyone and he was very reluctant to say anything about it.”
