Harry the No 1 terror target as Al Qaeda threatens to take revenge for 'royal aggression against Muslims'

Prince Harry has been warned that serving in Afghanistan made him a prime target for terrorists. Muslim extremists say the young royal is a "legitimate target" after ten weeks secretly fighting the Taliban.

This morning, the prince is on a troop transport plane bound for RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where he will be met by his father the Prince of Wales and brother William.
Two Al Qaeda-affiliated websites are calling on jihadists to "slaughter" the third in line to the throne.
There will now be an urgent review of his security and the prince may have to curb his fondness for nightclubs. Many UK Muslims have praised his sense of duty, however, even while condemning the war.

After news of his presence in Afghanistan leaked out, senior defence chiefs quickly agreed that allowing him to stay would increase the risk to his fellow soldiers.
Taliban insurgents were already vowing to step up attacks on British forces.
The prince was said to be bitterly disappointed that his posting to Helmand had to be cut short after a U.S. website broke an international media agreement not to reveal it.

Security sources said the terrorist threats against Harry were being taken seriously.
The prince is guarded, even while he is on Army duties, by a team of officers from the Metropolitan Police's elite SO14 Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department.
Members of the squad went with him to Afghanistan, although they stayed on an army base, leaving Harry alone in the field.

These Scotland Yard bodyguards are also responsible for protecting the prince during his frequent nightclub forays, though these may now have to be cut back.

Concerns about Harry's safety were deepened when firebrand preacher Anjem Choudhary, of the extremist Al Muhajiroun group, accused him of endorsing an "illegal war".
He said: "I think it is inevitable that anyone who engages in these activities is going to draw attention to themselves. He will be seen as part of the enemy and so he is a target.
"For Harry to participate has absolutely no justification. For people to say he is being brave and doing his job is simply wrong.

"Many wiser and braver men have decided not to participate and have objected and demonstrated against these wars. They should be the ones declared as heroes."
Hate preacher Omar Bakri, now in Lebanon, said: "Harry should condemn the fact that British forces are in a strange land fighting strange people who speak a different language."
But many worshippers arriving for Friday prayers at London's Regent's Park mosque praised the prince.

Accountant Adham Adam, 42, said: "I am against the war and Britain going there but Prince Harry is just doing his duty.
"I hope extremists will not target him because they don't have the right. I don't believe in extremist Islam. They are not doing good things for Muslim Brits."
Sheriff Folami, 65, said: "It shows he is an honourable person. It shows he is a true prince." Hussein Elazghal, 74, echoed the sentiment, adding: "It is very courageous that he is doing his duty. He is a British citizen and he is doing his service."

Hotel manager Nesar Siddiqui, however, said: 2I would be more comfortable if Harry wasn't there. There were legitimate reasons to go to Bosnia, but in Afghanistan there are not those reasons."

Catherine Heseltine of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee warned that many might find Harry's "glorification" of war offensive. She said: "It is not the way to talk about a war where so many Muslims have lost their lives - men, women and children, innocent civilians. It is not an adventure, it is not exciting."
As Harry was moving out, the Queen spoke with pride of her grandson, saying he had "performed a good job in a very difficult climate".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Harry had served with "great distinction" and the country owed him a "debt of gratitude".
He also revealed that he agreed with the decision to pull the prince out, saying: "Security considerations come first."
Sources close to the 23-year-old Prince said he had been devastated by the decision to bring him home so quickly after news of his frontline deployment leaked out.

The news blackout agreed by many UK and worldwide media - including the Daily Mail - collapsed on Thursday after details of the top-secret posting were published on a U.S. website.
One friend said: "He was absolutely loving it out there and was so proud to be doing, at long last, what he has trained for.
"That said, he always knew that if word leaked out the chances were he would be brought back home immediately. The last thing he wanted to do was to put his men at even greater risk, so he knew in his heart he had to go.

"Harry has lived in these guys' pockets for the last two and a half months and was even prepared to die alongside them, so he was sad to say such a hurried goodbye.
"He has already made plans to meet them when he gets back, though, and says all he wants now is a bath, a burger and to sleep."

Harry had already indicated, in an interview in Afghanistan, that he did not particularly relish the prospect of returning home. He said: "I don't want to sit around in Windsor" and made the surprising admission "I generally don't like England that much and, you know, it's nice to be away from all the press and the papers."
The prince, a second lieutenant in the Blues and Royals, part of the Household Cavalry, is said to now be more keen than ever to pursue a career in the army.

Lance Corporal Frankie O'Leary, who was with him in Afghanistan, said: "At the minute he's got a small team to command. He wants to go on and command a squadron, maybe one day a regiment."
Senior Army commanders considered several options for Harry's immediate future, with some arguing that withdrawing him from Afghanistan handed the Taliban a propaganda coup.
One insider said the danger to him would have remained "modest" if he stayed at an unspecified British base for the rest of his battlegroup's tour of duty. But at a meeting yesterday morning, the chief of the armed forces, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, and the head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, agreed that Harry must be withdrawn as soon as practicably possible.

Just like last year, when they vetoed the prince's deployment to Iraq, they attached more importance to the safety of soldiers around him. There were fears that the Taliban would step up their activities - ambushes, roadside bombs, mortar and rocket attacks on bases - in the hope of killing the young Royal.
If that led to other soldiers being killed or maimed, Harry and his commanders would be open to intense criticism.
In their first public reaction, the Taliban said Harry's presence in Helmand meant the Royal Family had joined the "aggression against Muslims" and encouraged their fighters to launch more attacks.

A spokesman said: "Instead of fighting and killing the innocent people, the prince should try to influence his Government to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan."
The Defence Ministry said the withdrawal decision had been taken "primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those who are deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual".
Brigadier Andrew Mackay, Commander of Task Force Helmand, paid tribute to Second Lieutenant Wales and revealed that he took part in a major operation to disrupt Taliban communications.

The brigadier said: "He has shared the same risks, endured the same austerity and undergone the same moments of fear and euphoria.
"He has flourished in this most demanding of environments, relished the opportunity to serve his regiment and his country, and is deservedly immensely proud of his contribution."
Harry's deployment to Afghanistan puts him in line for an operational medal.
The prince is the first member of the Royal Family to fight on the front line since his uncle, the Duke of York, was involved in the Falklands War.

Harry is set to receive the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan on his return to Britain.
He will be able to wear it alongside his Golden Jubilee Medal, given him by the Queen in 2002. He has previously worn this on parade at Sandhurst.
An MoD spokesman said he believed Harry would receive his service medal with the rest of his regiment, but could not say when that would be.