Afghanistan

Much was made of President Trump’s “fire and fury” comment last summer about North Korea, as well as a subsequent political book of the same name. Yet right now in Afghanistan, actual “fire and fury” is taking place, with ISIS serving as our military’s main target.

As Military.com reports, more than 80 U.S. airstrikes against the Afghan version of the terrorist group, known as “ISIS-K,” have taken place since June 11.

“We have increased our operations against ISIS-K [since] the beginning of this month,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Lance R. Bunch while referring to eastern Afghanistan.

The article also notes that “U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan reached a new record” in May. Please pray for the approximately 14,000 American service members serving in the war zone, both in the air and on the ground.

Iraq and Syria

A U.S. Marine Corps C-130 Hercules departs from an undisclosed location on June 22, 2018, as part of operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

As evidenced by the above image, American-led operations against ISIS are continuing in Iraq and Syria.

According to the Department of Defense, U.S. and “partner forces continue to exert pressure on ISIS’ senior leaders and associates in order to degrade, disrupt and dismantle ISIS structures and remove terrorists throughout Iraq and Syria.”

Thirty-five coalition strikes were made against ISIS in the two countries between June 18 and 24, according to the Pentagon. You can see a full list here.

Coming Home

My favorite part of the week is finding photos like these.

A young girl welcomes home her father to Pearl Harbor from his six-month deployment aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Columbia on June 6, 2018.

Indeed, this girl’s dad and all the USS Columbia sailors who spent the past six months at sea are heroes. Welcome home!

Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is co-author of three books about military heroes: 8 Seconds of Courage, Brothers Forever and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on Twitter @TSileo.