Forward Operating Base Chapman

Last updated
FOB Chapman
Flag of the International Security Assistance Force.svg
Khost province in Afghanistan
19th sf CO at Chapman July 02.JPG
U.S. Army Soldiers and contractors pose for a photograph at FOB Chapman in July 2002
Afghanistan adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
FOB Ghazni
Shown within Afghanistan
Coordinates 33°20′19.5″N69°57′21.4″E / 33.338750°N 69.955944°E / 33.338750; 69.955944
Type Forward operating base
Site information
Owner International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
Operator United States Armed Forces
Central Intelligence Agency
Site history
Built2001 (2001)
In use2001-2013 (2013)

Forward Operating Base Chapman, also known as Camp Chapman, was a United States Armed Forces Forward Operating Base located at the site of a former Afghan Army installation and was situated in Khost province, Afghanistan, on an airstrip 2 miles east of Khost.

The site was also used by the Central Intelligence Agency and was near Forward Operating Base Salerno, a large military base formerly used by U.S. special operations forces. [1] [2] The base was named for Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman, the first U.S. soldier killed by enemy fire during the Afghanistan war, in 2002. [2] [3] [4] [5] Chapman was killed while fighting alongside the CIA. [4]

History

A U.S. Army soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division looks down his M4 carbine's sights outside Camp Chapman in 2002. Camp Chapman 82nd Army Soldier 2002.png
A U.S. Army soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division looks down his M4 carbine's sights outside Camp Chapman in 2002.

The CIA's base in Khost was set up at the beginning of the U.S.-led offensive against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in 2001, and began as an improvised center for operations. [6] A military base at the beginning, it was later transformed into a CIA base, a U.S. official said. [7] According to a U.S. military source, Forward Operating Base Chapman was also used as a base for the Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), a military-led development group. [8] According to an individual who was in the PRT and took part in the relocation; this team left in 2011 and moved to FOB Salerno. [9] [10] In recent years, the base, one of the most secretive and highly guarded locations in Afghanistan, evolved into a major counterterrorism hub of the CIA's paramilitary Special Activities Division, used for joint operation with CIA, military special operations forces and Afghan allies, and had a housing compound for U.S. intelligence officers. [2] [6] [11] [12]

On Wednesday, December 30, 2009, the Camp Chapman attack was executed by suicide bomber Humam Khalil al-Balawi who was a Jordanian double agent loyal to al-Qaeda-linked Islamist extremists. Seven people employed by or affiliated with the CIA, including the chief of the base, Jennifer Lynn Matthews [13] as well as a Jordanian intelligence officer, died in the attack. It remains the second-deadliest incident ever for the CIA after the 1983 United States embassy bombing. Almost three years later, on December 26, 2012, a suicide bomber, possibly with ties to the Afghan Taliban (who claimed responsibility via a spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claiming those who served American forces at the base were the target) and/or the Haqqani network, killed three Afghans (their status was not specified) who were outside the perimeter of the base, which is near a military airport. [14]

U.S. bases in Khost, in particular Camp Salerno, have frequently been targeted by insurgents. In most cases, however, suicide attackers do not succeed in getting past the main entrance of a base. [15] According to U.S. officials, Forward Operating Base Chapman appears to have implemented less stringent security measures than other U.S. military bases, aiming at establishing trust with informants. [16] Subjecting informants to mistrust and excessive suspicion would reduce the amount of information received from them. [17]

In 2021, in the lead-up to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban twice targeted the base. In the first attack rockets landed nearby wounding seven civilians. During the second attack a water tower on the base was hit, but no U.S. personnel were hit. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khost</span> City in Khost Province, Afghanistan

Khōst is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram in Pakistan. Khost is the home of Shaikh Zayed University. The Khost Airport is located in the eastern area of the city.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Activities Center</span> Unit of the American Central Intelligence Agency

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forward Operating Base Salerno</span> Military installation in Afghanistan

Forward Operating Base Salerno is a former forward operating base used by the United States Armed Forces from 2002 to 2013 during Operation Enduring Freedom. It is located in the southeastern province of Khost, Afghanistan, near the city of Khost. On 1 November 2013, U.S. forces withdrew from FOB Salerno and transferred control of the installation to the Afghan National Army.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistani Taliban</span> Islamist militant organization operating along the Durand Line

The Pakistani Taliban, officially called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban share a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and have assisted them in the 2001–2021 war, but the two groups have separate operation and command structures.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khost-Gardez Pass</span> Mountain pass in eastern Afghanistan

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The Camp Chapman attack was a suicide attack by Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi against the Central Intelligence Agency facility inside Forward Operating Base Chapman on December 30, 2009. One of the main tasks of the CIA personnel stationed at the base was to provide intelligence supporting drone attacks in Pakistan. Seven American CIA officers and contractors, an officer of Jordan's intelligence service, and an Afghan working for the CIA were killed when al-Balawi detonated a bomb sewn into a vest he was wearing. Six other American CIA officers were wounded. The bombing was the most lethal attack against the CIA in more than 25 years.

Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi was a Jordanian doctor and a triple agent suicide bomber loyal to Islamist extremists who carried out the Camp Chapman attack, a suicide attack against a CIA base near Khost, Afghanistan on 30 December 2009.

The following lists events from 2014 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Afghanistan.

Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.

This article summarizes the history of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

References

  1. ↑ Oppel, Richard A.; Mazzetti, Mark; Mekhennet, Souad (January 4, 2010). "Behind Afghan Bombing, an Agent With Many Loyalties". New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Warrick, Joby; Constable, Pamela (January 1, 2010). "CIA base attacked in Afghanistan supported airstrikes against al-Qaeda, Taliban". Washington Post. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  3. ↑ Youssef, Nancy A. (December 31, 2009). "Taliban infiltrator who killed 7 from CIA wore Afghan uniform". McClatchy. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  4. 1 2 Meek, James Gordon (January 1, 2010). "Suicide bombing at CIA camp in Afghanistan likely revenge attack by Taliban warlord – a former ally". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  5. ↑ Mazzetti, Mark (December 31, 2009). "C.I.A. Takes On Bigger and Riskier Role on Front Lines". New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Gorman, Siobhan (January 1, 2010). "Suicide Bombing in Afghanistan Devastates Critical Hub for CIA Activities". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ Shah, Amir (December 31, 2009). "CIA Director: 7 CIA Workers Killed In Afghanistan". Associated Press. Retrieved January 1, 2010.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ Starkey, Jerome (January 1, 2001). "Afghan suicide bomber kills seven CIA agents after attacking base". The Times. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Source: 2 killed in Afghanistan bombing were security contractors". CNN. December 31, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  10. ↑ Gopal, Anand (January 2, 2010). "Taliban: CIA Attack Was Retaliation for Drone Strikes". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  11. ↑ Sengupta, Kim (January 1, 2010). "Suicide attack inflicts worst death toll on CIA in 25 years". The Independent. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  12. ↑ Smith, Adèle (January 1, 2010). "La CIA perd sept espions sur une base secrète". Le Figaro. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  13. ↑ Who was who in the hunt for bin Laden, The Week , April 30, 2013
  14. ↑ "World News".
  15. ↑ Rubin, Alissa J.; Mazzetti, Mark (December 31, 2009). "Afghan Base Hit by Attack Has Pivotal Role in Conflict". New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  16. ↑ Gorman, Siobhan; Dreazen, Yochi J. (January 2, 2010). "Killings Rock Afghan Strategy". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  17. ↑ Rajghatta, Chidanand (January 3, 2010). "Pak tribesman killed 7 CIA agents and trust". The Times of India . Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  18. ↑ Starr, Barbara; Cohen, Zachary; Atwood, Kylie; Liptak, Kevin (8 April 2021). "Taliban attack on covert US base in Afghanistan complicates Biden withdrawal decision". CNN. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
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