At least two US Marines have been killed during an attack on the US base neighboring Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, near where British troops, including Prince Harry , are based.
It is being reported that the firefight involved just American soldiers, not British soldiers, meaning that Prince Harry was not involved, reports The Telegraph .
The US officials stated that at least two marines were killed in the “complex” Taliban attack. The base is a coalition base and comprises the British Camp Bastion with the American Camp Leatherneck, and is home to more than 21,000 people.
Rockets and mortar were fired from outside the base, damaging buildings and aircraft. Many have been wounded in the attack, along with the two reported deaths.
The forces added that Camp Bastion, where Prince Harry currently resides, has not been breached. A Ministry of Defence spokesman stated:
“The MoD is aware of an incident that has taken place at Bastion this evening. The incident is being dealt with.”
Prince Harry was redeployed as an Apache helicopter pilot in Camp Bastion shortly after pictures of him naked and partying in a Las Vegas hotel room came to light.
The Taliban has dismissed Harry’s role at Camp Bastion as a propaganda stunt, claiming that he is simply there to “atone” for the embarrassment. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgents, stated:
“The British Army is under pressure, just like the other forces in Afghanistan, and Britain wants to encourage its soldiers with such actions. And also the Prince was seen in naked pictures in England. To cover this shame, maybe he can atone by showing that he is fighting beside their soldiers in Afghanistan. The British haven’t been able to do anything here in Afghanistan with all their soldiers. They can’t do anything with their Prince here either.”
NBC News notes that the Taliban has threatened to do whatever they can to kill Prince Harry, who is third in line to the British throne. They launched what they are calling the “Harry Operations” on Monday, after British officials announced Harry’s four-month deployment to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.