Forward Operating Base Salerno

Air elements at FOB Salerno, Oct. 5, 2004.

FOB Salerno (also known as Firebase Salerno) is a forward operating base of the U.S. military in south eastern province of Khowst, near the city of Khost in Afghanistan. It has been nicknamed^{[citation needed]} "Rocket City" due to the large amounts of incoming rocket and mortar fire in previous years. The facility was built by TF Panther in 2002, centered around the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was named for the beachhead in Salerno that the 505th PIR parachuted onto on 14 September 1943 (Operation Avalanche).

1 December 2002 rocket attack

Several rockets were fired at Firebase Salerno on 1 December 2002. Jan Baz Khan, the local militia commander who American forces paid to provide local security around the base quickly turned over a number of suspects he assured the Americans were responsible for the attack.

Dilawar a taxi driver who Jan Baz Khan turned over to the Americans who tortured him to death. (see Bagram torture and prisoner abuse). Golden reported that, by February 2003, American intelligence analysts had concluded that Jan Baz Khan had been responsible for the attack, that he had sold innocent men to them for the bounty. Close to a dozen other men were held in Guantanamo due to Jan Baz Khan's allegation, or to an alleged association with him.

19 August 2008 attack

On 19 August 2008. insurgent attempted to assault FOB Salerno with a double car bomb,the bombs detonated close to the base perimeter and killed 10 Afghans. Around midnight the next day the base came under mortar fire and was attacked by about 30 Taliban insurgents. The attackers attempted to breach the base near the airfield, where there is no HESCO bastion. The attackers were also accompanied by suicide bombers, three of which detonated their vest early as they came under machine gun fire from the base. Afghan commandos are credited with surrounding the other suicide bombers before they had a chance to attack. Another group of Taliban was observed preparing for an attack 1000 meters from the base before coalition forces opened up small arms fire. Helicopter gunships later pounded the Taliban staging area, resulting in 3 deaths. After the attack the insurgents were found in possession of anti personnel Type 69 RPG's, as anti personnel RPG's are rare in Afghanistan it is unclear how the weapons were obtained.

Continued volatility

On July 2 2009 a US soldier went missing from nearby Camp Clark, the soldier was later seized by the Taliban. Taliban commander Mullah Sangreen Zadran claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. This is the only known US soldier held captive in Afghanistan.

FOB Salerno continued to receive a large amount or mortar and rocket fire through the summer of 2009. A rocket hit a large tent inside the base, fortunately the tent was unoccupied at the time.

On December 30 2009 FOB Chapman, another nearby instillation was attacked by a suicide bomber. The attacker managed to sneak by security as he was allowed into the base and detonated himself. Seven CIA operatives were killed, making this attack the deadliest for the agency since the 1983 United States Embassy Bombing.

FOB Salerno was once again attacked by a group of Taliban on 28 August 2010. The attack started around 0400 with small arms and mortar fire. I addition suicide bombers participated in the attack. As the attack commenced some of the insurgents were able to penetrate inside the base and attempted to detonate themselves, but were stopped by coalition forces. Afghan forces also detained five insurgents and destroyed a recoilless rifle at the scene. In all 13 Taliban fighters were killed in the attack. After the failed assault NATO fores conducted an airstrike on a truck occupied by three Haqqani Network fighters in the area.

External links

• "Camp Salerno/Forward Operating Base Salerno". GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fob_salerno.htm. Retrieved 21 March 2007.