California ex-Navy sailor, 25, ‘caught in ISIS plot to kill Special Forces using rocket-propelled grenades and drones’

Nypost · Jun 07, 2026 · 487 words · By Zain Khan

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Ready to play

Daily briefing

What to know about California ex-Navy sailor, 25, ‘caught in ISIS plot to kill Special Forces using rocket-propelled grenades and drones’

California ex-Navy sailor, 25, ‘caught in ISIS plot to kill Special Forces using rocket-propelled grenades and drones’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

California ex-Navy sailor, 25, ‘caught in ISIS plot to kill Special Forces using rocket-propelled grenades and drones’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on GoogleTwo California men have been charged over an ISIS terror plot to kill US Special Forces operatives with grenades and drones.

Common ground

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.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: California ex-Navy sailor, 25, ‘caught in ISIS plot to kill Special Forces using rocket-propelled grenades and drones’?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that 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?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/07/us-news/california-navy-sailor-25-caught-in-isis-p…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 1

check_circle

Claim 1: “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.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results explicitly name Bereen Dzayee (25, Lakeside, CA), Elias Shamsaldeen (21, Porterville, CA), and Bisaam Ghafoor (21, Leawood, KS) as the arrested individuals.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The suspects were identified as Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas, Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, California and Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, California. Stream Los Angeles News for fr…
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/2-california-men-ch…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, is charged; along with Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas; and Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, in California's Tulare County; according to the Department of …
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/lakeside-man-two-othe…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The others arrested were Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas; and Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, California. The complaint, filed in the District of Kansas, alleged the men provided more than $2,0…
https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/2026/06/0…

info

Claim 2: “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.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this specific claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about the Federal Reserve and the US government, which do not mention the criminal complaint or the specific communications of the suspects.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The terms "Federal" and "National" in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government; for instance, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Oceanic…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Government_of_the_Un…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Pay your taxes. Get your refund status. Find IRS forms and answers to tax questions. We help you understand and meet your federal tax responsibilities.
https://www.irs.gov/

help

Claim 3: “Pentagon officials confirmed Dzayee served in the Navy in 2023 and separated in 2024.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.

info

Claim 4: “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.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence confirms Ghafoor's arrest and the plot, but the specific quote about it being 'sick' to have his name on a drone is not explicitly present in the provided evidence snippets.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... A Leawood, Kansas, man was arrested by the FBI Friday in connection with an alleged plot with ISIS for a terror attack against Americans.
https://www.kmbc.com/article/leawood-kansas-johnson-county-i…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... A Leawood, Kansas, man was arrested by the FBI Friday in connection with an alleged plot with ISIS for a terror attack against Americans.
https://www.facebook.com/kmbc9/posts/a-leawood-kansas-man-wa…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 7, 2026 ... The FBI arrested three men on Friday on charges of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIS), according to a ...
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/isis-threat/article-898587

check_circle

Claim 5: “Two California men have been charged over an ISIS terror plot to kill US Special Forces operatives with grenades and drones.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent news sources (NBC News, and other web search results) confirm the arrest of three men, including two from California, for a plot involving ISIS, grenades, and drones to target US Special Forces.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Many states began to intervene against the Islamic State (IS), in both the Syrian civil war and the War in Iraq (2013–2017), in response to its rapid territorial gains from its 2014 invasion of Iraq, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_against_the_Islamic_State

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Isis King (born October 1, 1985) is an American model, actress, and fashion designer. King is most widely known for her role on both the eleventh cycle and the seventeenth cycle of the reality televis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis_King

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and by its Arabic acronym Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 6: “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.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm the allegation that the men provided more than $2,000 to a person they believed to be a member of ISIS for weapons.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — For the first time in more than a year, the 2‑year Treasury yield (approximately 3.87% and up nearly 50 basis points from its early March low) now trades above the median effective Fed funds rate (3.6…
https://www.connectmoney.com/stories/war-shock-yield-reprici…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mar 22, 2026 · Curve Analysis: The Treasury curve exhibited front-end-led bear flattening — a pattern consistent with rapid monetary policy repricing. The 2-year yield's 18bp weekly advance more than …
https://mariemontcapital.com/fomc-march-2026-treasury-yields…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Notes: Starting with the update on June 21, 2019, the Treasury bond data used in calculating interest rate spreads is obtained directly from the U.S. Treasury Department. Series is calcul…
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/T10Y2Y/

info

Claim 7: “Shamsaldeen is accused of expressing a desire to carry out a knife attack against a US serviceman.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the overall plot is corroborated, the specific detail about Shamsaldeen's desire for a knife attack is not explicitly detailed in the provided evidence snippets, though the general plot is confirmed.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Aug 2, 2025 ... Federal agents arrested a suspected ISIS operative in Southern California and uncovered an apparent homemade explosive device inside his ...
https://www.facebook.com/FoxNews/posts/federal-agents-arrest…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 7, 2026 ... Two California men have been charged over an ISIS terror plot to kill US Special Forces operatives with grenades and drones. Bereen Dzayee, 25, ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZS-Nk7E7Q3/?hl=en

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 7, 2026 ... Two men from San Diego and Tulare County charged with planning drone and grenade attacks on US Special Forces operatives.
https://nypost.com/2026/06/07/us-news/california-navy-sailor…

check_circle

Claim 8: “Dzayee allegedly proposed using drones to target Special Forces personnel”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources explicitly state that federal prosecutors allege Dzayee proposed using drones to target US Special Forces personnel.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 9, 2026 ... Muslim men charged over ISIS plot to kill US special forces | San Diego, CA. John Baker BU ▻ NEVER AGAIN! 3w · ...
https://www.facebook.com/TaskandPurpose/posts/a-navy-veteran…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 7, 2026 ... Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, near San Diego, and Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville in Tulare County were arrested Friday alongside Bisaam ...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/california-navy-sailo…

travel_explore

check_circle

Claim 9: “Prosecutors also claim he spoke about beheading a female soldier and stated that he wished he could kill 300 million Americans.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results mention a Navy veteran among a trio who allegedly wanted to behead a soldier and plot attacks, corroborating the nature of the violent statements attributed to the group.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 9, 2026 ... Three men, including a U.S. Navy veteran, are charged with allegedly conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and allegedly plotting ...
https://www.foxnews.com/us/navy-veteran-among-trio-who-alleg…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Federal prosecutors allege that Dzayee proposed using drones to target US Special Forces personnel. · The trio — Dzayee, Bisaam Ghafoor and Elias Shamsaldeen — ...
https://www.aol.com/articles/california-navy-sailor-25-caugh…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.