Having flown on deadly sorties during his five-month deployment, British Royal Prince Harry has confirmed that he killed Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, taking them "out of the game", much like other soldiers fighting with him.
The 28-year-old, known as Captain Wales in the Army, is returning to the United Kingdom after his second deployment to the war-torn country.
As a gunner in Apache attack helicopters, Harry flew on scores of missions with his fingers on the triggers of deadly rockets, missiles and a 30 mm cannon.
"Yeah, so lots of people have," he replied when asked if he killed from the cockpit.
"The squadron's been out here. Everyone's fired a certain amount," he said.
Harry was involved with a number of missions in southern Afghanistan, from supporting allied troops to accompanying British Chinook and US Black Hawk helicopters on casualty evacuation missions.
His work as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller during his first tour of duty in 2007-08 saw him call in air strikes on enemy positions, which he watched unfold on a monitor nicknamed 'Kill TV' with him in the hot seat.
"Take a life to save a life. That's what we revolve around, I suppose. If there are people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we will take them out of the game, I suppose," he said.
Speaking to reporters while stationed at Camp Bastion, he admitted he had "let himself and his family down" by his exploits in a Las Vegas hotel suite recently.
While Harry loves to muck in as "one of the guys", his father, the Prince of Wales, is always reminding him of his position, he said.
The third-in-line to the throne is also thrilled for Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are expecting their first child. The announcement of Kate's pregnancy came while Harry was in Afghanistan.
During his 20-week deployment, Harry flew on deadly sorties, often for hours, in support of the coalition troops and the Afghan security forces.
