Prince Harry deployed on the front line in Afghanistan

London: Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, has been secretly serving as a combat soldier on the front lines in Afghanistan for 10 weeks, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

Following leaks in the international media about his deployment, officials said they were reviewing whether he should remain there, fearing that he could become a target for Taliban militants or other fighters.

Harry, 23, was deployed to Helmand, a dangerous region of southern Afghanistan, in December, seven months after plans to send him to Iraq were scrapped following threats from Iraqi militants to kidnap or kill him.

The army posted him to Afghanistan only after the British and selected members of the international media agreed not to report his presence until he had returned from a scheduled 4-6 month deployment.

That embargo was broken on Thursday after German, Australian and US websites reported that he was there.

Harry has been responsible for calling in air strikes against Taliban positions, has conducted foot patrols through villages and has fired on suspected enemy combatants, pool photographs and footage have shown.