18 September,2012 07:12 AM IST | | Agencies
Prince Harry was whisked to safety by SAS bodyguards as the Taliban launched its deadly attack on Camp Bastion. Harry had grabbed a pistol and was ready to fight but was taken to a fortified safe room on the base during the three-hour suicide bombing mission.
The SAS guarded Harry through the night, primed to take on the Taliban fighters who have vowed to kill him. An insider at the huge base in Afghanistan said, "There was no messing about. Harry was taken straight to the safe place as soon as the alarm went off.
All in a days's work: Prince Harry is seen examining the cockpit of an Apache helicopter with a member of his squadron at Camp Bastion. He was reportedly relaxing in the pilots' lounge when the alarm was raised. Pic/Getty Images
"He was prepared for the fight but had to follow the plan. If anything happened to him it would have been disastrous.u00a0"The whole camp was locked down. All troops including Harry had to stay in their accommodation wearing full body armour and armed."
The details became clear yesterday after the ferocious assault that started at 10pm local time on Friday. Harry, who celebrated his 28th birthday the following day, was relaxing in the pilots' lounge when the alarm was raised.
The Taliban opened fire when they were challenged by guards near an airfield on the north-east side of the base, which houses US forces in Camp Leatherneck.
Fifty airmen from the RAF Regiment Force Protection Wing raced to the scene in lightly armoured vehicles and the fire-fight lasted more than two hours. They destroyed six AV-8B Harrier jets and damaged two others before the attack ended, the coalition said.u00a0
Insurgents wore US army uniforms
Afghan insurgents who staged a daring, well-planned raid on Camp Bastion, the military base where Britain's Prince Harry is deployed, were wearing US Army uniforms, NATO said a day after the attack.u00a0It is extremely rare for Afghan insurgents to use US uniforms in their attacks. The last such incident took place over two years ago in August 2010. u00a0
