Britain’s Prince Harry, who was stopped from serving in Iraq due to threats to his life, could be sent to join troops in Afghanistan, a media report said on Sunday.

British tabloid News of the World reported that it had information about plans for the 22-year-old officer to join the fight against the Taliban, but was withholding key details.

Harry, the third in line to the British throne, is a second lieutenant in the elite Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army’s Household Cavalry, responsible for 11 soldiers and four Scmitar reconnaissance vehicles.
Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt blocked him from being sent to southern Iraq, due to threats against his life that would put his men in “unacceptable” danger.

The tabloid said insurgents planned to hit both British camps in southern Iraq with chlorine bombs — which kill victims by burning their lungs — to be certain of getting the prince.

Prince Harry, known as Cornet Wales in the Army, is set to be posted to Afghanistan before 2008 and could be seconded to join a NATO command unit, the newspaper said.

He would carry out low-risk operations and earn a campaign medal after serving for 30 days, it said.
NATO troops are spread out across Afghanistan and therefore Prince Harry could serve at any one of a large number of locations across the stride-torn country. “He will probably serve as a very junior watch-keeper, possibly working through the night,” a senior army source told the tabloid.

Meanwhile, The Observer newspaper said revelations about Prince Harry’s deployment in a war zone will be censored if the government agrees to a proposal that would ban media from reporting on such aspects of his military career.