Prince Harry had more than his birthday to celebrate this weekend.
The prince, who turned 28 on Saturday, is safe and unharmed after an overnight attack by the Taliban that killed two U.S. Marines and wounded several others.
According to the Associated Press, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack that was centered on Camp Bastion, where Harry is stationed. Bastion is adjacent to Camp Leatherneck, where U.S. Marine operations are based.
“We attacked that base because Prince Harry was also on it and so they can know our anger,” Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesperson for the Taliban, told the AP in a phone call.
“Thousands more suicide attackers are ready to give up their lives for the sake of the Prophet,” he added.
But where exactly was the prince when the overnight attack occurred?
Prince Harry was just two kilometers away from the Taliban attack on the British base, a spokesman for Britain’s Ministry of Defense confirmed to the AP.
The International Security Assistance Force added that the attack involved “small arms fire and indirect fire,” most likely referring to mortars or rockets.
The prince, who is third in line to the British royal throne, is serving as a co-pilot and gunner for an Apache attack helicopter during his four-month tour in Afghanistan.
“Prince Harry, like any soldier, considers it a great honor to represent his country in her majesty’s armed forces wherever it chooses to deploy him,” a spokesperson for St. James Palace said last week, when the prince took off for his tour.
This is Harry’s second deployment to Afghanistan — he previously served in late 2007 for 10 weeks.
