By DAVID WILLIAMS

Last updated at 00:49 29 February 2008

The man known to pilots simply as Widow Six Seven waited for weeks to call in his first air strike on the Taliban.

Eventually, after three days of surveillance, Prince Harry decided the time had come. It was a moment he had trained for in secret.

As a forward air controller, it has been Harry's job to ensure enemy targets are correctly identified and that aircrews are clear about where they

are aiming.

Most controversially, the prince is also responsible for making sure that the explosions do not kill friendly forces or Afghan civilians.

On New Year's Eve, Harry finally got the chance to put his training into practice as he ordered two U.S. F15 fighter jets to attack the enemy.

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5: The first bomb lands on the enemy bunker. 6: How Harry would have seen the blast on the screen 7: The strike is successfully completed

Taliban fighters had been moving between bunkers in Helmand province, and as many as eight were seen digging fresh trenches.

They were spotted in surveillance flights by a lawnmower-sized Desert Hawk drone and a manned reconnaissance aircraft.

These are able to hover close to the ground, undetected by the men dubbed "Terry Taliban" by the British.

From the operations room at Forward Operating Base Delhi, one of the southernmost allied outposts in Helmand, Harry was able to watch live pictures via a laptop.

These are known as "Taliban TV" or "Kill TV" by soldiers. Harry's focus was a position, codenamed Purple, 150 metres behind the Taliban front line.

On the night before the air strike, the prince stayed at his post until well after midnight.

Then just before 10am the next day, Gurkha troops at a small British observation post in front-line Garmsir were caught up in a clash with Taliban fighters.

Three Royal Artillery guns fired round after round from another British base seven miles away to force the Taliban back.

From his operations room, Harry could see where the enemy were, so he sent the two F15 fighters to a holding position six miles away where they could wait unseen.

Within an hour, 15 Taliban fighters had emerged, believing they were safe, and Harry called the jets in – verifying the co-ordinates for his first air strike.

Two targets were pinpointed at opposite ends of the bunker system.

The pilots signalled they were in position with the words "In Hot". After further checks, Widow Six Seven then gave them the final go-ahead with the words: "Cleared Hot".

The pilots lined up the targets and dropped the first of two 500lb bombs. A third exploded moments later as Taliban fighters emerged from cover in full view of the aircraft above.

Grainy images from an Army "Rover" terminal screen show what Harry saw. Although the exact outcome of the strike is not known, officers have described it as a success.

Asked if the job was tough, Harry said: "Well, I suppose bits of it are difficult."

He then compared his role to that of an air traffic controller.

"You've got jets flying all over the place and you're trying to control them while looking at the screen, while trying to show a presence of force

with your jets to get the enemy to go to cover and to keep your guys in one piece and keep safe," he added.