Prince Harry says he killed insurgents in Afghanistan

Britain's Prince Harry says he killed Afghan insurgents during sorties against the Taliban while on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan where he was a gunner in Apache attack helicopters.

Queen Elizabeth's 28-year-old grandson will return home later this week after a 20-week posting with NATO forces at the Camp Bastion military base in the southern province of Helmand.

Asked before he left Afghanistan if he had killed insurgents during his tour, he said: "Yes, we fire when we have to, take a life to save a life, but essentially we're more of a deterrent than anything else."

The Taliban had said it would do its utmost to kidnap or kill Harry during his tour, and an Afghan insurgent warlord labeled him a drunken "jackal" out to kill innocent Afghans.