Former Mercenary Accused of Assassination Plot Against Serbian President

A former special forces member associated with a mercenary unit, reportedly earning $1.5 million a month, has been accused of planning to assassinate the Serbian president.

Daniel Corbet was detained in Belgrade back in 2018 for having a firearm with its serial number scratched off. Local reports suggested he was in Serbia with intentions to kill President Aleksandar Vučić.

The ex-Navy SEAL was apprehended in an apartment along with three Serbian individuals and spent 18 months in a Serbian prison.

Serbian officials expressed concerns about his presence, with the president asserting that Corbett hadn’t come merely to enjoy fishing on the Danube.

However, in June 2019, Corbett was cleared of all weapon-related charges due to insufficient evidence.

This news arrives as Corbett’s previous mercenary group, Spear, faces a legal challenge after a former Yemeni MP alleged in a lawsuit that he attempted to murder Corbett.

The unit’s leader, Abraham Golan from San Diego, is accused of creating a 23-person “kill list” targeting individuals for the UAE government, according to the complaint.

Alongside Golan, Isaac Gilmore and Dale Comstock are listed as defendants in the lawsuit, while Corbett is not specifically mentioned.

Corbett, who is believed to have served with SEAL Team 6 during the hunt for Osama bin Laden, has been seen with Golan and documented his experiences as a mercenary in a book.

His 2024 book, tentatively titled “American Mercenary,” contains a subtitle that reads “Serbia is a bitch.” The description notes that things changed in 2017 when he was arrested in Belgrade.

It mentions how authorities, upon realizing he was a Navy SEAL, jumped to the worst conclusions about his intentions.

Corbett recounts the ordeal in detail, explaining on the Mic Drop podcast that when he heard a magazine spring vibrate and a trigger being pulled, he was taken by surprise.

He recalls a large officer confronting him about his purpose in Serbia, insisting he was just a private contractor, without any plans of assassination—though he mentioned that the media was already onto the story.

Corbett was acquitted of the main charges in June 2019 and was ordered to leave the country immediately. In a troubling turn of events, his lawyer was later killed in a gang-related attack.

Founded in August 2015 in Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego, Golan and Gilmore, another former Navy SEAL, allegedly negotiated an agreement with the UAE to conduct “targeted assassinations.”

For these services, Spear was reportedly compensated $1.5 million a month, plus bonuses for successful hits.

Golan is quoted in the complaint claiming responsibility for a targeted assassination plot in Yemen, asserting it was sanctioned by the UAE.

They had allegedly recruited other former U.S. military personnel to aid their pitch to the UAE, including Comstock, who was reportedly paid $40,000 per month along with bonuses to lead the assassination team.

In December, the group traveled from New Jersey to Yemen, equipped with body armor and gear for making explosives.

One of their main targets was Ansaf Ali Mayo, a member of Yemen’s second-largest political group, suspected of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which opposes the UAE.

The complaint states Mayo was targeted for an assassination attempt involving explosives at the al-Islah Party headquarters in Aden.

The dramatic attempt was captured on drone footage, showing the shocking explosion as Comstock planted an explosive device that detonated, followed by a second explosion from a booby-trapped SUV.

Mayo narrowly escaped, claiming he endured psychological trauma from the experience and is presently in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Members of Spear have been reached out to for comments, although Mayo could not be contacted for further details.