Two men charged with aiding 2008 attacks in India

Two Chicago men were indicted Thursday on charges of planning an attack on a Danish newspaper and of helping lay the groundwork for the November 2008 terrorist rampage that killed more than 170 people in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Businessman Tahawwur Rana and his associate David Coleman Headley already had been charged with assistance to terrorism, but the new 12-count indictment expanded allegations against Rana to include the Mumbai attacks. Both are in federal custody in Chicago.

The indictment alleges that Rana knew of the planned Mumbai attacks as long ago as 2006, and that he allowed Headley to travel as a representative of his immigration business so Headley could scout locations for the attacks on hotels, a train station and other sites.

Headley traveled to India several times as the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba prepared for the coordinated assault, the indictment said. He allegedly scouted the Oberoi and Taj Mahal hotels, both of which were attacked. Six Americans were among those killed.

Also indicted Thursday for their alleged roles in planning the assault was Ilyas Kashmiri, a suspected terrorist leader in regular contact with Al Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, a retired Pakistani army officer. Neither is in custody.

The indictment also charged Headley and Rana, both 49, for their alleged roles in a plot to attack the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten as revenge for publishing controversial cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.

Rana allegedly gave Headley permission to travel to scout a mission there under the guise of being a representative of Rana’s business, First World Immigration.

Rana was indicted on three counts of providing material support to terrorism, including the Mumbai and Copenhagen plots. He remains held without bond and could face a life term. A message to his attorney was not immediately returned.

Headley faces 12 counts, including six counts of conspiracy to bomb public places in India. The charges against him could carry the death penalty, but he has been cooperating with investigators since his arrest in Chicago in October.

Rana has maintained his innocence. His lawyer has said that Headley was the real plotter and that Rana was duped into helping.