Prince Harry a 'high-value' target of Taliban

Prince Harry is the target of a "high-value plan" by the Taliban to kill him during his combat tour in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the militant group says.

"We will do our best to kill Prince Harry and Britain's other troops based in Helmand," said Zabihullah Mujahid, who spoke to Agence France-Presse by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Mujahid said the Taliban has a "high-value plan" to attack Harry, who is third in line for the throne.

"It is not important for us to kidnap him. We will target him and we will kill him," he said.

Capt. Harry Wales, as he is known in the British military,began a four-month tour on Fridayas a gunner on an Apache attack helicopter and was to start flying missions within 10 days in the Helmand province.

During Harrys 10-week deployment in Afghanistan in 2007-08, the military asked the press not to report on his presence there to protect the security of the prince and his colleagues. When the news became public, hisdeployment was cut short.

On his current tour, however, the military made no attempt to conceal Harrys deployment and it released images showing the prince after his arrival at the base last Friday.

Britain's Defence Ministry decided a threat assessment concluded that making the details public would not put Harry or his colleagues at any additional risk.

Harry, 27, made headlines last month after he wasphotographed naked at a party in Las Vegas.

He will spend four months at Camp Bastion, a desert base near the southern Afghan town of Lashkar Gah.