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Prince Harry has been deployed to Afghanistan for the next four months, just weeks after nude photos of him in a Las Vegas hotel room were leaked on the internet. 

British military officials told the BBC that the 27-year-old prince -- an Apache helicopter pilot -- arrived in the war-torn country on Thursday night. The latest deployment -- his second in Afghanistan -- had been kept a secret because of fears that he would quickly become a target for Taliban insurgents. 

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Royal Navy Captain Jock Gordon was quoted as saying that Harry would be performing "a difficult and demanding job" throughout his deployment. "And I ask that he be left to get on with his duties and allowed to focus on delivering support to the coalition troops on the ground," he told the BBC.

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The prince qualified as an Apache helicopter pilot earlier this year after 18 months of rigorous training at home and abroad. 

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The latest deployment marks a publicity diversion for Prince Harry after photos of him naked with an unidentified woman in a Las Vegas hotel suite appeared online and became a media sensation.