Kabul: Taliban leader Anas Haqqani has slammed Britain’s Prince Harry after the British royal said in his memoir that he had killed 25 people in Afghanistan when serving as a military helicopter pilot, describing them as “chess pieces removed from the board”.
In a series of tweets, Haqani said, “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”.
“The truth is what you’ve said; Our innocent people were chess pieces to your soldiers, military and political leaders. Still, you were defeated in that “game” of white & black “square”.
“I don’t expect that the ICC will summon you or the human rights activists will condemn you, because they are deaf and blind for you. But hopefully, these atrocities will be remembered in the history of humanity,” reads the tweet.
Harry’s highly personal book “Spare” went on sale in Spain days before its global launch on Jan 10. It discloses the depth of the rift between the prince and his brother William, the heir to the throne, and other revelations such as drug-taking 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 co-pilot gunner in Apache attack helicopters, and the number of people he had killed.
He acknowledged killing 25 people during his time as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. According to a report by AFP, the 38-year-old served two tours of duty against the Taliban, first as a forward air controller calling in airstrikes in 2007-2008, then flying the attack helicopter in 2012-2013.
He said he was neither proud nor ashamed of doing so and described eliminating the targets as like removing “chess pieces” from the board.
Harry served for 10 years in the British Army, rising to the rank of captain, and has described his time in the military as his formative years.
The report quoting the prince said that he explained his justification for his actions because of the 9/11 attacks in the United States and meeting families of the victims.
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