Prince Harry has killed Taliban fighters

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HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Britain's Prince Harry has killed Taliban fighters, British military sources told London's Daily Telegraph.

The third-in-line to the British crown is serving a four-month tour of duty and has been in the Army Air Corps in Afghanistan since September as navigator and gunner in an Apache attack helicopter, the Daily Telegraph reported Sunday.

Prince Harry is believed to have killed his first Taliban soldier -- but not a Taliban "commander" -- a few weeks after arrival, when he flew to rescue a patrol that had been attacked, the Telegraph reported.

He is based at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province and helps to provide covering fire for ground combat troops and transport helicopters and medical evacuation missions, the newspaper said.

He was removed from deployment with the Household Cavalry in 2008 when news broke he was in ground forces in Afghanistan.

The prince retrained as an Apache co-pilot and in February qualified as a "top gun," which would allow him to perform a combat role without endangering others if the Taliban tried to target him, senior military commanders said.

Senior military commanders felt the role would allow him to continue in a combat role without endangering the lives of others if the Taliban chose to try and target the prince.

Two U.S. Marines, however, were killed a week after Prince Harry's arrival in an attack on Bastion. The attack purportedly was an act of vengeance for an U.S.-made anti-Islam movie, the Telegraph said.