Staging a swift attack before the fighters there could move on, coalition forces killed 27 militants and seized a large cache of rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.
This week, Afghan and U.S. forces laid siege to what they described as Haqqani "command bunkers" in Khowst, killing more than a dozen militants in airstrikes.
More difficult to predict and prevent, however, are attacks against civilians. Last week, a suicide attacker killed seven people outside a mosque in Khowst, the provincial capital and the city that lies closest to Camp Salerno.
That attack came as Khowst was still reeling from an hours-long siege on May 12, when a squad of suicide bombers hit municipal offices and the governor's compound, among other targets. The next day, insurgents set off a powerful vehicle bomb at the gates of the base, killing seven civilians.
"They look for the soft targets," said Army Maj. Matthew Gregory, a spokesman for Task Force Yukon, based at Camp Salerno. "It's hard for them to get to us, so they go after civilians."
The base itself, like many of those close to the border, is rocketed by insurgents. At night, light restrictions are in effect to make it harder for militants to take aim, plunging the camp into near-total darkness. Still, rockets do occasionally strike inside the base.
Even the most ambitious assaults by insurgents, including a carefully synchronized attack in August employing a wave of half a dozen suicide bombers, have failed to penetrate the camp's perimeter. But townspeople in Khowst say they draw little comfort from the presence of a heavily fortified U.S. installation if they themselves feel unsafe.
"We understand what they are trying to do," said shopkeeper Zabiullah Khan, whose teenage son was injured in last week's attack near the mosque. "But we don't have guns and armor. It's not enough for them to protect themselves; they must protect us as well."
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laura.king@latimes.com
