(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-02-29 19:20

LONDON - British news organizations said Friday the army was pulling Prince Harry out of Afghanistan after news of his deployment there was leaked in the media.

This January 2008 photograph just made available shows Britain's Prince Harry on patrol through the deserted town of Garmisir in Helmand province. [Agencies]

Harry, third in line to the British throne, has been serving on the front line with an army unit in one of Afghanistan's most lawless and barren provinces since mid-December.

The British Broadcasting Corp. and others quoted military sources as saying Harry will be sent home after having served 10 weeks on the front lines in Helmand province.

The Ministry of Defense would not confirm the reports. It said any such decision could be only be confirmed through a written statement from Chief of the Defense Staff Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup

Army officer Brig. Patrick Marriott said Friday that what happened next would be part of a "well worked-out plan."

"It's always been considered it could break," Marriott said on GMTV.

The army's commander, Gen. Richard Dannatt, said he was consulting commanders on whether Harry's deployment could continue.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the prince had demonstrated that he was an exemplary young officer.

"The whole of Britain will be proud of the outstanding service he is giving," Brown said.

Harry, 23, is the first royal to serve in a combat zone since his uncle Prince Andrew flew helicopters during Britain's war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982.

British officials had hoped to keep Prince Harry's deployment secret until he had safely returned, but they released video of him serving in Helmand Province after a leak appeared on the US Web site the Drudge Report.

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