ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Haris Qamar, 26, of Burke, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in a plot aimed at sparking lone wolf attacks in Washington, D.C. Federal prosecutors say Qamar didn’t just cheerlead from the shadows — he actively plotted, scouted targets, and fantasized about mass slaughter in the name of terrorism.
According to court filings, Qamar collaborated with an FBI confidential witness (CW) in May and June 2015 to identify high-profile locations for an ISIL propaganda video meant to incite attacks. On May 26, he discussed the need for photos of potential targets, including the Pentagon and multiple landmarks in Arlington and D.C. Days later, on June 3, an audio and video-recorded operation captured Qamar in a vehicle with the CW, touring those very sites. As they drove, Qamar sneered, “bye bye DC, stupid ass kufar, kill’em all.” A second surveillance mission followed on June 10 in Arlington to gather more imagery for the video.
Qamar’s obsession with violence wasn’t limited to logistics. The statement of facts details his repeated, graphic expressions of bloodlust. He told the CW he “loved the bodies, blood and beheadings,” recalling with pleasure a video of a Kurdish man being slaughtered — specifically the sound of his spinal cord tearing. Qamar claimed he could personally carry out such killings and described, in chilling detail, how he would do it. He glorified suicide bombers, declaring, “I believe in it 100 percent,” even after the CW expressed disbelief.
The threat extended beyond rhetoric. On September 11, 2015, ISIL published a “kill list” online naming U.S. military personnel. Qamar told the CW that several of the listed service members lived near his home in Burke. He claimed to have seen undercover police cars near those homes — intelligence he considered valuable to ISIL’s cause. On September 16, he took to Twitter, praying that Allah “give strength to the mujahideen to slaughter every single US military officer.” The digital trail sealed his fate.
Qamar’s allegiance wasn’t new. In 2014, he attempted to travel to Syria to join ISIL, purchasing a one-way ticket from Newark, New Jersey, to Istanbul, Turkey. He never boarded — his parents blocked him by holding his passport. When confronted, Qamar reportedly fought with his father, calling him a traitor to Islam. He admitted to the CW that his parents threatened to alert law enforcement, forcing him to abandon the trip — but not his ideology.
“Mr. Qamar attempted to help ISIL encourage lone wolf attacks in our nation’s capital,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. FBI Assistant Director Paul M. Abbate added the case shows how terrorist groups exploit social media to radicalize and direct individuals domestically. Qamar’s guilty plea is the result of a relentless investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Sentencing is pending; he faces up to 20 years in prison.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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