PRINCE HARRY - PRINCE HARRY WITHDRAWN FROM AFGHANISTAN

LATEST: British royal PRINCE HARRY has been pulled out of Afghanistan, after it emerged he had been fighting on the army front line for the last 10 weeks. The 23-year-old, who is third in line to the throne, was deployed to the war-torn country late last year (07) but the British government issued a media blackout on the situation to avoid any potential kidnap plots involving the young royal. But news of the prince's front line service was leaked by foreign media on Thursday (28Feb08), forcing the Ministry of Defence to issue a statement admitting the reports. The prince was due to remain in Afghanistan until April (08), but will now return to the U.K. because his cover has been blown. A new statement released by the Ministry of Defence on Friday (29Feb08) says, "Following a detailed assessment of the risks by the operational chain of command, the decision has been taken ... to withdraw Prince Harry from Afghanistan immediately. "This decision has 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 soldier." The media blackout was flouted by various news outlets in countries like Australia and the U.S.