The Taliban have described Prince Harry as "a high value target" and say they will try to kidnap or kill him, Reuters reports.
On Friday the 27-year-old Army captain began a four-month combat tour as a gunner on an Apache attack helicopter in the restive Helmand province.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told Reuters: "We are using all our strength to get rid of him, either by killing or kidnapping... We have informed our commanders in Helmand to do whatever they can to eliminate him."
The Taliban will carry out "Harry operations" despite reports that they are prepared to completely disown al-Qaeda and agree a ceasefire deal to end its 11-year conflict with NATO.
In 2007-8 Harry served in Helmand for 10 weeks as an air traffic controller, but his deployment was cut short after it was made public.
In May 2007 Harry was prevented from beginning a six-month deployment in Iraq because the British military deemed the risks to his safety were too great.
Capt. Harry Wales, as he is known in the military, is currently completing training courses in first aid, shooting and improvised explosive device (IED) awareness.
He will then begin Apache-specific preparation and start flying missions.
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