Middle East

The world is a safer place than it was last week after three successful military and intelligence operations took out some of the world’s worst terrorists.

In Tehran, an explosive device smuggled into Iran – almost certainly by Israel – killed top Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh. The New York Times reports that “the bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that (Haniyeh) was inside his room at the guesthouse.”

Haniyeh, who was involved in the October 7 massacre against Israel, was in Tehran for the inauguration of new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. After the Hamas terrorist was killed on Wednesday, Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “revenge” against Israel.

In Beirut, Israel also killed top Hezbollah terrorist commander Fouad Shukur in a Tuesday airstrike, according to The Associated Press. Shukur was believed not only to have been behind a horrific weekend rocket attack that killed a dozen innocent Israeli children, but the 1983 bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon that killed a staggering 241 American service members.

“I know there are no words that can express our sorrow and grief with the loss of those splendid young men and the injuries to so many others,” President Ronald Reagan said afterward. “I know there are no words also that can ease the burden of grief for the families of those young men. Likewise, there are no words to properly express our outrage … and I think the outrage of all Americans.”

Even though it has been nearly 41 years since the murders of those brave warriors, we hope and pray that Shukur finally being brought to justice will bring some measure of comfort to those who survived the events of that horrific day, and most importantly the loved ones of those lost. We will never forget the many military heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice on October 23, 1983.

In Iraq, Reuters reports that the U.S. military took out four members of the Iran-backed terrorist group Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF. According to the news agency, the airstrike occurred on Tuesday in Musayib, which is south of Baghdad in Iraq’s Babil Province.

“The officials added that the strike targeted militants that the U.S. deemed were looking to launch drones and posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces,” the Reuters report said, using the sanitized term “militants” instead of the correct one: terrorists.

As The Stream noted last week, terrorists recently targeted American forces stationed on Al Asad Airbase in western Iraq. Thankfully, nobody was hurt or killed. About 2,500 U.S. military forces are still serving in Iraq, with a primary mission of battling ISIS.

Thank you to the U.S. and Israeli militaries for continuing to fight terrorism, which poses an ongoing threat to the free world. We pray for your swift and safe return.

Europe

A U.S. military veteran is coming home after spending about five years behind bars in Russia.

CBS News reports that Russia agreed Thursday to free retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and radio reporter Alsu Kurmasheva as part of a prisoner exchange involving multiple countries, including the United States and Germany. As of this writing, the Americans were expected to be released that evening.

Whelan “was arrested in December 2018 when he was traveling in Russia to attend a friend’s wedding,” CBS reports. “He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.” The network also noted that “Whelan was left out of several previous prisoner swaps with Russia under both the Trump and Biden administrations.”

We thank God that these unjustly detained American citizens are finally coming home.

Coming Home

A U.S. Coast Guard crew recently returned to American shores after a 63-day patrol in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

A U.S. Coast Guardsman poses for a photo aboard the Cutter Stone with his family on July 24, 2024, after returning to North Charleston, South Carolina.

Welcome home, warriors! Enjoy this well-deserved time with your loved ones.

Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is the author of the newly released I Have Your Back, Be Bold and co-author of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on X @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.