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Prince Harry was at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan at the time of an attack by the Taliban in which two American marines were killed.

Nato told the Reuters news agency that the prince "was never in any danger".

US officials said small arms, rockets and mortars were used to attack the perimeter of the military base, home to troops from several countries.

Prince Harry, who is marking his 28th birthday, is on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

An earlier stint between 2007 and 2008 was cut short because his presence was leaked by the international media.

For this current deployment, however, the Ministry of Defence has made it clear it is happy to publicise Harry's role as he will be commanding an Apache helicopter and the threat to him is regarded as "low".

Friday's attack targeted the US compound, Camp Leatherneck, which forms one part of Camp Bastion.

There are fears of a surge in violence ahead of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan by 2014.

Maj Martin Crighton from Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) told the BBC that the assault appeared to have been carried out by insurgents.

"Two Isaf service-members did die in the attack and currently the Isaf forces on the camp are conducting an assessment to determine the extent of the damage," he said.

The huge base has a high level of security and is one of the world's busiest airports because of the large number aircraft landing and taking off.

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