Former Navy Sailor Among 3 Arrested in Shocking Plot to ‘Kill Millions of Americans’

A former U.S. Navy sailor is among three men charged in an alleged ISIS terror plot that prosecutors say involved plans to kill U.S. Special Forces members using rocket-propelled grenades and drones.

Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, California, near San Diego, and Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, California, were arrested Friday along with 21-year-old Bisaam Ghafoor of Leawood, Kansas.

Pentagon officials confirmed that Dzayee served in the Navy in 2023 and separated from the service in 2024. Neighbors and a former classmate also shared photos with NBC San Diego that appeared to show him wearing a sailor’s uniform.

Federal prosecutors allege the three men paid $2,000 to someone they believed was connected to ISIS in order to purchase rocket-propelled grenades and unmanned aerial vehicles for a planned attack.

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

Prosecutors allege Dzayee proposed using drones to target U.S. Special Forces personnel.

Shamsaldeen is accused of expressing a desire to carry out a knife attack against a U.S. service member.

Ghafoor allegedly made a series of violent statements, according to prosecutors. Authorities claim he said it would be “sick” to have his name placed on a drone used in an attack. Prosecutors also allege he spoke about beheading a female soldier and said he wished he could kill 300 million Americans.

The arrests stunned people in Dzayee’s quiet California neighborhood.

One neighbor told NBC San Diego that a white van pulled up before tactical agents surrounded the home.

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

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

The neighbor said seeing the Terrorist Task Force immediately raised alarms.

“You immediately — you see Terrorist Task Force, your alarms go up,” the neighbor said.

The resident said they even walked up to an FBI agent to ask whether the neighborhood was in danger.

“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,’” the neighbor recalled.

Residents said Dzayee mostly kept to himself.

“He doesn’t really speak to folks around here, which is, again, unusual for this neighborhood,” one nearby resident said.