Banned: 'Taliban Hunting Club' badges worn by UK troops in Afghanistan



British soldiers in Afghanistan have been banned from wearing skull-and-crossbones badges on their uniforms that declare ‘Death To The Taliban’ and proclaim membership of a ‘Taliban Hunting Club’.



The unofficial stick-on badges are now a cult accessory among British troops fighting Taliban insurgents.



But senior Army officers visiting Helmand province in southern Afghanistan – where most UK troops are based – have ordered them to be removed because they are deemed ‘politically insensitive’.



On the way out: Taliban hunting badges have been given the boot after senior Army officers deemed them to be politically insensitive



Commanders were said to be particularly worried about the repercussions if any of the estimated 600 soldiers wearing one of the fabric badges accidentally shot a civilian in the heat of battle.



Ministry of Defence lawyers are understood to have expressed concern that any soldier wearing one of the badges who might later become embroiled in a legal case after killing an innocent Afghan would be viewed as ‘maverick’.

One of the banned emblems features a crude pirate-style skull and crossbones and a Death To The Taliban slogan, while another has a more intricate design of a skull with crossed rifles behind it and the motto Taliban Hunting Club.



Yet another shows a skull framed by a sniper’s gun sight covered in an Arab-style scarf and, on top of it, what appears to be the dead body of a Taliban fighter stripped to the waist.



The badges are made in Britain and they are sent out to soldiers by friends and relatives, or taken out by the troops in their backpacks.



Hunting the evil: A soldier proudly displays a Taliban Hunting Club badge on his uniform

Despite the ban, the badges have become collectors’ items and are now being sold by British troops to other Nato soldiers.



US and French troops in the Afghan capital Kabul are said to be particularly keen on buying them.



One soldier serving with The Rifles regiment in Afghanistan, and currently on leave in the UK, said: ‘The badges started off as a bit of a laugh, but they have now become collectors’ items, especially for foreign troops serving in Kabul – perhaps because they don’t do any fighting.’



He added: ‘At the end of the day I thought we were here to fight the Taliban. In fact “hunt and destroy the Taliban” is what we are told, so what is wrong with the badges?’



Other soldiers say that the makeshift badges they wore raised morale and increased the camaraderie among young squaddies, many of whom are just 18 or 19 years old.



End of the 'Hunting Club': The badges worn by troops are said to 'send out the wrong message to the public'

And one senior officer who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq said that while he understood why the MoD was concerned, he believed the issue had been handled badly.



He said: ‘These sorts of things are very good for morale. Those people sitting back at headquarters in the lap of luxury have no idea what these young guys are facing.’



Senior Army sources said the badges were banned because they ‘send out the wrong message to the public’.



An MoD spokesman said last night: ‘Soldiers will inevitably personalise their kit, but any addition that might compromise the high values and standards of the British military will be dealt with accordingly by local commanders.’

