California ex-Navy sailor ‘caught in ISIS plot to kill Special Forces’

Two California men have been charged over an ISIS terror plot to kill US Special Forces operatives with grenades and drones.

Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, near San Diego, and Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville in Tulare County were arrested Friday alongside Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, from Leawood, Kansas.

Prosecutors allege the three paid $2,000 to someone they thought was from the jihadi group to buy rocket-propelled grenades and UAVs for the attack.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Kansas, the three men allegedly spent more than a year communicating about extremist plans, including discussions about leaving the US to join ISIS.

Dzayee allegedly proposed using drones to target Special Forces personnel while Shamsaldeen is accused of expressing a desire to carry out a knife attack against a US serviceman.

The DOJ alleges Ghafoor made a series of violent statements, including saying it would be “sick” to have his name placed on a drone used in an attack.

Prosecutors also claim he spoke about beheading a female soldier and stated that he wished he could kill 300 million Americans.

Pentagon officials confirmed Dzayee served in the Navy in 2023 and separated in 2024. Neighbors and a former classmate also shared with NBC 7 photos of him in a sailor’s uniform.

Several residents, including veterans and military family members, said the arrest was difficult to reconcile with their understanding of his background.

“We looked out — it seemed to me like it was a white van that pulled up and tactical guys jumped out and surrounded the house,” a neighbor said.

“Very odd in this neighborhood. So the neighbors started coming out. We didn’t approach, but we were watching.”

Agents remained at the residence for several hours, searching the home and garage while interviewing Dzayee’s parents.

“You immediately — you see Terrorist Task Force, your alarms go up,” the neighbor added. “I actually walked up to the FBI agent and asked if the house was going to blow up, whether the neighborhood should be concerned, and he assured me, ‘No, we’re arresting someone. That’s all we’ve got.’”

Residents said Dzayee kept mostly to himself.” He doesn’t really speak to folks around here, which is, again, unusual for this neighborhood,” the nearby resident said.

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