Three US citizens, including two in California and one in Kansas, have been arrested and charged with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
The suspects, Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas; Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, California; and Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, California, are accused of “conspiring to provide material support to terrorism after collectively providing over $2,000 to an individual they understood to be a member of ISIS,” according to the DOJ.
They pledged allegiance to ISIS.
They plotted multiple attacks and targeted US service members.
“This FBI stopped them cold,” Patel said. “The success of this op shows once again the FBI’s continued record of stopping terrorist attacks before they happen, simply the best way to defend the homeland—and shows we’ll stop at nothing to defend Americans from those who seek to do us harm. I want to thank our teams in Kansas City, San Diego, Sacramento, Newark, and Richmond and the Counterterrorism Division for their outstanding efforts on this investigation and commitment to the mission.”
They communicated through Discord chats, voice calls, and other messaging platforms.
Ghafoor allegedly said it would be “sick” if his name could be written on the drone used in an attack on Americans. At the same time, Dzayee allegedly suggested that targets of drones should include US Special Forces, according to the DOJ.
Court documents note Shamsaldeen “expressed a desire” to stab and injure a US service member.
Ghafoor confessed to having always wanted to kill a female soldier by beheading, adding, “I wish I could kill 300,000,000 Americans.”
Shamsaldeen allegedly provided financial resources for the purpose of purchasing drones to attack and kill US service members deployed overseas, according to the complaint.
The DOJ claimed the suspects, along with others, also communicated their desires to travel outside the US to fight on behalf of ISIS.
“This administration has put terrorists, cartels, and gangs on notice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a statement. “Today’s arrest of three individuals who allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIS makes clear our commitment to taking down terrorist networks — anywhere. Thanks to the vigilance of the FBI, somebody dismantled the alleged scheme and prevented further acts of violence against US service members.”
