BACKGROUND LINK WITH UPDATES:
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367275/posts
FBI raid at meat processor believed tied to immigration irregularities [UPDATE:TERROR PLOT -ARRESTS]
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com ^ | October 20, 2009 | Tribune staff report
Posted on October 21, 2009 12:39:00 AM PDT by Cindy
SNIPPET: “Search at Grundy County plant called part of ongoing probe”
SNIPPET: “But a source said the owner of the plant, which processes lamb and goat, was taken into custody at his home in Chicago.
Documents and records were taken from the plant and from a Chicago travel agency on West Devon Avenue, also owned by the same person, the source said.”
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
mere capital punishment is too easy for such scum -— especially since it won’t happen for about 15 yrs if at all
They should be buried alive in leftovers from a slaughterhouse for pigs, topped off with ample quantities of pig excrement
US DOJ.gov - Justice.gov/opa - Press Release: "TAHAWWUR RANA AND DAVID HEADLEY INDICTED FOR ALLEGED ROLES IN INDIA AND DENMARK TERRORISM CONSPIRACIES Ilyas Kashmiri & Retired Pakistan Major Charged in Denmark Plot" (SNIPPET: "A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment adding three defendants, including Tahawwur Rana, to charges filed last month against David Coleman Headley, alleging that they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans.") (January 14, 2010)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com: "CHICAGO IMMIGRATION AGENCY A FRONT FOR TERROR PLOT, FEDERAL PROBERS ALLEGE U.s. Probe Targets Operations of First World Immigration" by Antonio Olivo (SNIPPET: "Federal prosecutors charge that the Immigration center served as a front in a Chicago-based terror plot to bomb a Danish newspaper that in 2005 outraged Muslims worldwide when it published unflattering caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. First World's owner, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, also knew in advance of plans for the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, which killed 172 people, federal prosecutors allege. Randall Samborn, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, said last week that federal authorities are working to determine the Immigration status of people who entered the U.S. with the agency's help. The alleged plot is one of several cases raising new concerns about U.S.-based terror plots.") (January 3, 2010)
TIMESnow.tv: "HEADLEY, KASAV'S HANDLER DECLARES WAR ON INDIA" (SNIPPET: "Al-Qaeda and HuJI commander Ilyas Kashmiri has issued a chilling warning to India in a letter that he sent to terror outfits. Kashmiri says he knows the routes to send suicide bombing squads into the country. Ilyas Kashmiri, the face of the Al Qaeda in NWFP is now training guns on India. TIMES NOW has accessed the copy of Kashmiri's letter, sent to various jehadi outfits calling for more terror attacks in India -- underlining a new strategy to spread terror.") (18 Dec 2009, 0854 hrs IST)
News.REDIFF.com: "DECEPTIVE ANSWERS AT THE AIRPORT LED TO HEADLEY'S ARREST" (SNIPPET: "Headley's cellphone was registered to a dead man, as was his Chicago apartment, according to the FBI. He changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006 to further his cover, according to the FBI.") (Last updated December 9, 2009, 14:55 IST)
Chicago.FBI.gov - DOJ Press Release: "CHICAGOAN CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY IN 2008 MUMBAI ATTACKS IN ADDITION TO FOREIGN TERROR PLOT IN DENMARK Additional Charges Unsealed Alleging Retired Pakistani Major Conspired in Danish Plot" (SNIPPET: "The defendant, David Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen, earlier this decade allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar e Tayyiba (Lashkar), and conspired with its members and others in planning and executing the attacks in both Denmark and India, federal law enforcement officials announced today. Also today, a criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court in Chicago charging Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military, with conspiracy in planning to attack the Danish newspaper and its employees. Another Chicago man, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, was arrested in October on federal charges filed in Chicago relating to the Danish terrorism plot.") (December 7, 2009)
OTTAWA CITIZEN.com: "NEW SUSPECT LINKED TO CARTOON PLOT Man detained at behest of FBI may have connection" (SNIPPET: "Illyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani military officer and now a reputed commander of the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) militant group, is believed to have been detained by Pakistan at the behest of the FBI, according to an unconfirmed report in The Times of India." SNIPPET: "If confirmed, Kashmiri's arrest will expand the global nature of the case, which already has connections to Chicago, Copenhagen, Mumbai and Kanata.") (November 24, 2009)
HINDUSTAN TIMES.com (PRESS TRUST OF INDIA): London - "PAKISTANI FATHER-SON DUO HELD IN ITALY OVER MUMBAI ATTACKS" (SNIPPET: "They said Indian agencies are also trying to find out whether the arrested persons had any links with David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana...") (Last updated November 21, 2009, 15:01 IST)
PAJAMAS MEDIA.com - blog: "U.S. NOW EXPORTS TERROR: AMERICAN LINKED TO MUMBAI ATTACK A Chicago-area raid looks to have captured a planner of the massacre." by Rusty Shackleford (November 17, 2009)
INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT.org - For The Record - blog: "BOLLYWOOD ACTOR CAST IN REAL-LIFE CHICAGO TERROR PLOT" (November 16, 2009)
GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE.org (REUTERS): "SECURITY INCREASED AT INDIAN NUCLEAR SITES OVER POSSIBLE ATTACK" (November 16, 2009)
GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE.org (AP): "PAKISTANI TERRORISTS PLOTTING NEW ATTACKS IN INDIA, SINGH WARNS" (August 17, 2009)
TIMES OF INDIA: New Delhi - "HOTELS TOLD TO KEEP EYE ON FOREIGNERS" by Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN (SNIPPET: "The David Headley case has spurred Delhi Police into stepping up its vigil on foreign tourists...") (November 16, 2009, 12:43 am IST)
TELEGRAPH INDIA.com: 'HEADLEY MAPPED ALL '26/11 TARGETS' - U.S. SUSPECT POSED AS JEW: POLICE" by Samyabrata Ray Goswami (SNIPPET: "The FBI seized a book called HOW TO PRAY LIKE A JEW from him at the time of his arrest in Chicago. He had prepared himself thoroughly to pose as a Jew," the officer said.") (November 15, 2009)SOUTH ASIA ANALYSIS GROUP - Paper no. 3506: "THE 313 BRIGADE - International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 579" by B. Raman (SNIPPET: "20. Ilyas sees himself as another Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and wants to carry out a spectacular terrorist strike in a Western country. The purpose of his trying to use David Coleman Headley, of Chicago arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Chicago on October 3, 2009, was for an attack on the Danish journal, which carried caricatures of the Prophet in 2005. A perusal of the FBI's affidavit against Headley shows that while Ilyas wanted a Mumbai -- 26/11 style attack in Copenhagen, Headley felt that a more feasible option would be to assassinate the cartoonist and his Editor.") (November 16, 2009)INDIAN EXPRESS.com - News: "HEADLEY AT THE TAJ, RANA ACROSS INDIA" (SNIPPET: "Meanwhile, a real estate agent, Sunny Singh, presented himself to the media today claiming that Headley approached him as recently as just over a month ago looking to rent an apartment in Bandra. "He came with a woman called Anna whom he introduced as his wife. He told me he had come with a reference from another woman named Marina," Singh claimed. "He was willing to pay around Rs 50,000 and a deal was nearly final but things did not work out when he refused to give his visa documents and a letter from his employer."") (Posted November 14, 2009, 0927 hrs)LONG WAR JOURNAL - Threat Matrix - blog: "PAKISTANI GENERALS LINKED TO U.S. TERROR SUSPECTS" by Bill Roggio (November 13, 2009)
NEWS.MSN.com: "FBI GETS 60 DAYS TO FILE CHARGES AGAINST INDIA TERROR PLOTTERS" (SNIPPET: "Chicago courts chief Judge James F. Holderman has extended till next Jan 1, the period of filing indictment against the accused duo, David Coleman Headley, a Pakistan-born American national, and his Pakistan-born Canadian associate Tahawwur Hussain Rana.") (November 12, 2009)
SOUTH ASIA ANALYSIS GROUP - Paper no. 3500: "Extracts from FBI Affidavit Regarding Headley's Contacts With Individual A & Let Member A: International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 575" by B. Raman (November 11, 2009)
INDIA-SERVER.com: India - "GOVT WARNS CITIZENS AGAINST TERROR ATTACKS IN FIVE MAJOR CITIES" (SNIPPET: "This Home Ministry alert is based on the inputs available from FBI, which they obtained while interrogating David Headley. It is supported by Indian intelligence agencies' inputs. Reports have mentioned that Headley was in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Agra and Ahmedabad between 2006 and 2009 and hence the alerts are mainly for these cities.") (Last updated November 12, 2009)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com: "U.S. CITES AL-QAIDA DVDs IN PRESSING FOR SUSPECT'S DETAINMENT Chicago man allegedly plotted to attack Danish newspaper, target in India" by Jeff Coen (SNIPPET: "A federal judge could decide on Nov. 19 whether to release Rana, owner of a Chicago immigration business and a Grundy County meat processing plant, on bond pending trial.") (November 10, 2009)
OSINT.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "HEADLEY & RANA - FROM CHICAGO TO COPENHAGEN WITH LOVE" (SNIPPET: "My read of the complaints is that Headley was involved in ongoing efforts to support Pakistan-based terrorist outfits, primarily by travelling to prospective sites of future targets and conducting surveillance. I suspect that there is more to Rana providing support to Headley than just the fact that they both attended the same military academy.") (October 30, 2009)
TIMES OF INDIA: Washington - "TOP PAK DIPLOMAT KNEW U.S. LASHKAR OPERATIVES: FBI" (SNIPPET: "Pakistan's Consul General in Chicago personally knew both David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, nabbed by the FBI for planning to carry out a major terror attack in India at the behest of LeT, the US authorities have claimed.") (October 30, 2009, 2:02 pm IST)
Chicago.FBI.gov - DOJ Press Release: Chicago - "TWO CHICAGO MEN CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH ALLEGED ROLES IN FOREIGN TERROR PLOT THAT FOCUSED ON TARGETS IN DENMARK" (SNIPPET: "The defendants charged in separate criminal complaints unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago are David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, also known as Tahawar Rana...") (October 27, 2009)
DINAH LORD - blog (WBBM780.com): "BREAKING: 2 MEN ARRESTED IN CHICAGO ON TERROR CHARGES" (SNIPPET: "WBBM's Regine Schlesinger reports the US Attorney's office in Chicago alleges that 49 year old David Coleman Headley. an American citizen who changed his name from Daood Gilani, and 48 year old Tahawar Rana, a Canadian citizen who lives in Chicago, were involved in a plot to support or carry out terror attacks.") (October 27, 2009, 9:26 am)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE.com: "2ND CHICAGO MAN TIED TO TERROR PLOT Man taken into custody at O'Hare was allegedly to meet with people linked to terrorist organizations" by Hal Dardick and Jeff Coen (SNIPPET: "The man was taken into custody Oct. 3 before he boarded a flight at O'Hare International Airport to Philadelphia, the first stop on a trip to Pakistan..." SNIPPET: "The owner of the plant, Tahawar Hussain Rana, also of Chicago, was arrested at his North Side home the same day as the raid on First World Management Services in Kinsman, northwest of Dwight." SNIPPET: "Rana financially supported the man involved in the terrorist plot, as well as the man's family, the source said.") (October 27, 2009)
TIMESonline.co.uk: "MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS: AND THEN THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS" (SNIPPET: "One more question remains: how did the terrorists and their handlers apparently know the layout of Nariman House, and the schedule of its inhabitants, so well? Suspicion has fallen on Jackie, the Muslim cook. Since the siege, he says he has had about 100 interviews with police and officials, including Israelis. Solomon Sopher, a leader of the Mumbai Jewish community, says he thinks Jackie is suspected not of direct collusion with terrorists, but perhaps of unwittingly revealing information to scouts who struck up a friendship with him. Jackie denies this, and it is probable that if there were evidence against him, he would have been charged.") (November 1, 2009)
http://www.investigativeproject.org/3892/maximum-sentence-sought-in-danish-cartoon-plot
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“Maximum Sentence Sought in Danish Cartoon Plot”
by IPT News Jan 15, 2013 at 3:34 pm
NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2013/tahawwur-rana-sentenced-to-14-years-in-prison-for-supporting-pakistani-terror-group-and-terror-plot-in-denmark
Tahawwur Rana Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Supporting Pakistani Terror Group and Terror Plot in Denmark
U.S. Department of Justice
January 17, 2013
Office of Public Affairs
CHICAGOA Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist plot in Denmark and providing material support to Lashkar e Tayyiba, a terrorist organization operating in Pakistan that was responsible for the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. The defendant, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, was convicted of the charges on June 9, 2011, following a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Rana, 52, a Canadian citizen, was ordered to serve 14 years, followed by five years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. This certainly was a dastardly plot, Judge Leinenweber said in imposing the sentence.
Rana was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a plot from October 2008 to October 2009 to commit murder in Denmark, including a horrific plan to behead employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and throw their heads on to the street in Copenhagen, as well as providing material support, from late 2005 to October 2009, to Lashkar, a militant jihadist organization operating in Pakistan. Lashkar planned and carried out the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, before initially planning the terrorist attack in Denmark in retaliation for the newspapers publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Rana was acquitted of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks.
This serious prison sentence should go a long way towards convincing would-be terrorists that they cant hide behind the scenes, lend support to the violent aims of terrorist organizations, and escape detection and punishment, said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Todays sentence demonstrates that, just as vigorously as we pursue terrorists and their organizations, we will also pursue those who facilitate their violent plots from a safe distance. As established at trial, Tahawwur Rana provided critical support to David Headley and other terrorists from his base in the United States, knowing they were plotting attacks overseas. I thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about todays result, said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
It is my hope that the judges decision today sends a message to those who plot attacks and those who provide the support to make the plots possible, both here and abroad, that you will be held accountable for your actions. Our mission, detecting and preventing terrorist acts and eliminating the enabling support provided by terrorist sympathizers, remains our top priority, said Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI.
Rana is one of two defendants to be convicted, among a total of eight defendants who have been indicted, in this case since late 2009. Co-defendant David Coleman Headley, 52, pleaded guilty in March 2010 to 12 terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of the six Americans in Mumbai. Headley, who is scheduled to be sentenced next Thursday, has cooperated with the government since he was arrested in October 2009 and testified as a government witness at Ranas trial. He is facing a maximum of life in prison.
The evidence at Ranas trial showed that he knew he was assisting a terrorist organization and murderers, knew their violent goals, and readily agreed to play an essential role in achieving their aims. The government contended that Rana knew the objective of his co-conspirators was to retaliate against and influence the Danish government for its perceived role in the publication of the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, and he knew that the goal of Lashkar was to retaliate against and influence the Indian and Danish governments and intended that the support he providedenabling Headleys activitieswould be used toward that purpose.
In a post-arrest statement in October 2009, Rana admitted knowing that Lashkar was a terrorist organization and that Headley had attended training camps that Lashkar operated in Pakistan. Headley testified that he attended the training camps on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, Headley received instructions from members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks three years later that killed more than 160 people and wounded hundreds more.
In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities. Headley testified that he traveled to Chicago and advised Rana, his long-time friend since the time they attended high school together in Pakistan, of his assignment to scout potential targets in India. Headley obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities. Rana directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headleys cover story and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India, according to Headleys testimony, as well as e-mails and other documents that corroborated his account.
Between November 26-28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades, and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, some of which Headley had scouted in advance.
Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley testified that in the fall of 2008, he met with a Lashkar member in Karachi, Pakistan, and was instructed to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus.
In late 2008 and early 2009, after reviewing with Rana how he had performed surveillance of the targets attacked in Mumbai, Headley testified that he advised Rana of the planned attack in Denmark and his intended travel there to conduct surveillance of the newspapers facilities. Headley obtained Ranas approval and assistance to identify himself as a representative of First World and gain access to the newspapers offices by falsely expressing interest in placing advertising for First World in the newspaper. Headley and Rana caused business cards to be made that identified Headley as a representative of the Immigration Law Center, the business name of First World, according to the evidence at trial.
The trial evidence also included transcripts of recorded conversations, including those in September 2009, when Headley and Rana spoke about reports that a co-defendant, Ilyas Kashmiri, an alleged Pakistani terrorist leader, had been killed and the implications of his possible death for the plan to attack the newspaper. In other conversations, Rana told Headley that the attackers involved in the Mumbai attacks should receive Pakistans highest posthumous military honors. In late summer of 2009, Rana and Headley agreed that funds that had been provided to Rana could be used to fund Headleys work in Denmark, and the evidence showed that Rana pretended to be Headley in sending an e-mail to the Danish newspaper.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Sarah E. Streicker, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Departments National Security Division. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have worked on a broader investigation of the Mumbai attacks. The investigation has been conducted by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from FBI offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., as well as both U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations.
NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2013/david-colemen-headley-sentenced-to-35-years-in-prison-for-role-in-india-and-denmark-terror-plots
David Colemen Headley Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Role in India and Denmark Terror Plots
U.S. Department of Justice
January 24, 2013
Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTONDavid Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen partly of Pakistani descent, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for a dozen federal terrorism crimes relating to his role in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and a subsequent proposed attack on a newspaper in Denmark. Headley pleaded guilty in March 2010 to all 12 counts that were brought against him following his arrest in October 2009 as he was about to leave the country. Immediately after his arrest, Headley began cooperating with authorities.
Headley, 52, was ordered to serve 35 years, followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. There is no federal parole and defendants must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. Mr. Headley is a terrorist, Judge Leinenweber said in imposing the sentence.
There is little question that life imprisonment would be an appropriate punishment for Headleys incredibly serious crimes but for the significant value provided by his immediate and extensive cooperation, the government argued in seeking a sentence of 30 to 35 years.
In pleading guilty and later testifying for the government at the trial of a co-defendant, Headley admitted that he attended training camps in Pakistan operated by Lashkar e Tayyiba, a terrorist organization operating in that country, on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, Headley received instructions from three members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks in 2008 that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans, and wounded hundreds more. Headleys plea agreement in March 2010 stated that he has provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation and also has provided information of significant intelligence value.
In consideration of Headleys past cooperation and anticipated future cooperation, which would include debriefings for the purpose of gathering intelligence and national security information, as well as testifying in any foreign judicial proceedings held in the United States by way of deposition, video-conferencing or letters rogatory, the Attorney General of the United States authorized the U.S. Attorneys Office in Chicago not to seek the death penalty.
Todays sentence is an important milestone in our continuing efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks and to achieve justice for the victims. Our investigations into Mumbai attacks and the Denmark terror plot are ongoing and active. I thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors responsible for this investigation and prosecution, said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
Headley was convicted of conspiracy to bomb public places in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India; six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar.
According to Headleys guilty plea and testimony, he attended the following training camps operated by Lashkar: a three-week course starting in February 2002 that provided indoctrination on the merits of waging jihad; a three-week course starting in August 2002 that provided training in the use of weapons and grenades; a three-month course starting in April 2003 that taught close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades and survival skills; a three-week course starting in August 2003 that taught counter-surveillance skills; and a three-month course starting in December 2003 that provided combat and tactical training.
Mumbai Terror Attacks
After receiving instructions in late 2005 to conduct surveillance in India, Headley changed his given name from Daood Gilani in February 2006 in Philadelphia to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by portraying himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.
Headley eventually made five extended trips to Mumbaiin September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008each time making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance. After each trip, Headley traveled to Pakistan to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance videos.
Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Headley and co-conspirators in Pakistan discussed potential landing sites in Mumbai for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea. Headley returned to Mumbai with a global positioning system device and took boat trips around the Mumbai harbor and entered various locations into the device.
Between November 26 and 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades, and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley had scouted in advance, killing approximately 164 victims and wounding hundreds more.
The six Americans killed during the siege were Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr, and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.
In March 2009, Headley made a sixth trip to India to conduct additional surveillance, including of the National Defense College in Delhi, and of Chabad Houses in several cities.
Denmark Terror Plot
Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley admitted and testified that in early November 2008, he was instructed by a Lashkar member in Pakistan, to conduct surveillance of the Copenhagen and Aarhus offices of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten in preparation for an attack in retaliation for the newspapers publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. After this meeting, Headley informed co-defendant Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), also known as Pasha, of his assignment. Abdur Rehman told Headley words to the effect that if Lashkar did not go through with the attack, Abdur Rehman knew someone who would. Although not identified by name at the time, Headley later learned this individual was co-defendant Ilyas Kashmiri. Abdur Rehman previously told Headley that he was working with Kashmiri and that Kashmiri was in direct contact with a senior leader of al Qaeda.
While in Chicago in late December 2008 and early January 2009, Headley exchanged e-mails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. In January 2009, at Lashkars direction, Headley traveled from Chicago to Copenhagen to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and scouted and videotaped the surrounding areas.
In late January 2009, Headley met separately with Abdur Rehman and a Lashkar member in Pakistan, discussed the planned attack on the newspaper, and provided them with videos of his surveillance. About the same time, Abdur Rehman provided Headley a video produced by the media wing of al Qaeda in approximately August 2008, which claimed credit for the June 2008 attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the offending cartoons.
In February 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman met with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, where they discussed the video surveillance and ways to carry out the attack. Kashmiri told Headley that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkars participation was not necessary. In March 2009, a Lashkar member advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure resulting from the Mumbai attacks. In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman again met with Kashmiri in Waziristan.
Kashmiri told Headley to meet with a European contact who could provide Headley with money, weapons and manpower for the Denmark attack and relate Kashmiris instructions that this should be a suicide attack and the attackers should prepare martyrdom videos beforehand. Kashmiri also stated that the attackers should behead captives and throw their heads on to the street in Copenhagen to heighten the response from Danish authorities, and added that the elders, whom Headley understood to be al Qaeda leadership, wanted the attack to happen as soon as possible.
In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe and met with and attempted to obtain assistance from Kashmiris contacts and, while in Copenhagen, he made approximately 13 additional surveillance videos. When he returned to the United States on August 5, 2009, Headley falsely told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspector in Atlanta that he had visited Europe for business reasons. On October 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at OHare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to deliver the approximately 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri.
One of Headleys co-defendants, Tahawwur Rana, 52, of Chicago, was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to the Denmark terror plot and providing material support to Lashkar. Headley testified for the government at Ranas trial in June 2011.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Sarah E. Streicker, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Departments National Security Division. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have worked on a broader investigation of the Mumbai attacks. The investigation was conducted by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the Chicago Office of the FBI, with assistance from FBI offices in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., as well as both U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations.