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Anjem Choudary calls Duke of Sussex a ‘Muslim killer’ and calls on jihadis to retaliate

Anjem Choudary - David Wood / Alamy Stock Photo
Anjem Choudary - David Wood / Alamy Stock Photo

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has called for jihadis to “wake up” and target British troops, following Prince Harry’s admission that he had killed 25 members of the Taliban.

The 55-year-old Islamist, who was jailed for terror offences in 2016, accused the Duke of Sussex of being a “Muslim killer” and said he had shown his “true colours”.

Prince Harry made the comments in his forthcoming memoir, Spare, in which he recalled his time serving as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.

He says he flew on six missions, killing 25 Taliban fighters, but said he did not think of them as “people” but as “chess pieces” that he had taken off the board.

But in a blog post entitled “Muslim killer ‘Prince’ Harry Once Again Shows His True Colours!” - which will be read by his thousands of followers around the world - Choudary accused the Duke of making “callous, boastful comments” which had “plunged a knife further into the hearts of Muslims”.

Writing online, he said: “The latest revelations from Harry that he murdered 25 Muslims in Afghanistan followed by his comment that he has no remorse and that he just saw these human beings as ‘chess pieces’ tells us everything we need to know about the Royal family and their thinking about Islam and Muslims.

“In reality, the British Royal family has a long and dark history of supporting the occupation of Muslim land, the usurpation of its resources and the oppression of Muslims.”

Prince Harry - John Stillwell/PA Wire
Prince Harry - John Stillwell/PA Wire

And in comments that could be interpreted as a veiled threat against British troops, he added that Muslims around the world should seek to “end the occupation of foreign forces”.

He wrote: “The latest honest outpouring from Harry should serve not just as evidence of the motives and objectives behind the British occupation of Afghanistan but also as a wake-up call for Muslims and non-Muslims to do all they can to end the occupation of foreign forces from all Muslim countries, including Syria, Iraq and those in North Africa where many British soldiers are deployed.”

Choudary, who is said to have inspired a string of extremists, including the killers of Drummer Lee Rigby, was jailed for five years in 2016 after being found guilty of inviting support for Islamic State.

He was released from prison in 2018 amid strict conditions, which prevented him from speaking publicly on sensitive matters.

But the conditions were lifted in July 2021, following the completion of his sentence and he is once again at liberty to comment providing he stays within the law.

Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, urged the police and security services to look at his latest comments carefully.

Tobias Ellwood, Tory MP for Bournemouth East, said Choudary and others were using Prince Harry’s admissions to “ratchet up hate”.

Philip Ingram, a former intelligence and security officer, said: “Any comments from Anjem Choudary like these raise the danger not just for British troops but for other established figures around the world.”

But he urged former senior military figures to stop “pouring fuel” on the situation by expressing horror at Prince Harry’s remarks, warning that the row was giving extremists a platform they were able to exploit.