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Two accused of plotting terrorist attacks
Authorities charge Chicago men of conspiring against places around Western Europe
Jeff Coen - Chicago Tribune
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: World News
CHICAGO (MCT) - Terrorism-related charges were filed Tuesday against two Chicago men, accusing them of plotting against targets in Western Europe, including "facilities and employees" of a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked riots in the Muslim world.
Charged are David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48.
Headley was described as an American citizen who changed his name from Daood Gilani. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts involving murder and maiming outside the U.S. and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the conspiracy, according to a release from the U.S. attorney's office.
Rana, a native of Canada, was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign conspiracy involving Headley and three other individuals.
Both men remain in federal custody, officials said.
Federal officials said there was "no imminent danger in the Chicago area," and added the charges are not related to recent terror plot arrests in Boston, New York, Colorado, Texas and central Illinois.
Headley conducted surveillance of targets in Denmark beginning in 2008, and then reported to Ilyas Kashmiri, an operational chief in a Pakistani-based organization known as Harakat-ul Jihad Islami, which has links to al-Qaida, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
Headley also allegedly communicated with another terror organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Headley and the people he communicated with coded their plan for attacks over the cartoon as "The Mickey Mouse Project," according to the affidavit.
He allegedly traveled to Denmark in January 2009 and visited two offices of the newspaper that printed the cartoon, Jyllands-Posten, in Copenhagen and Arhus, Denmark. During his visits he claimed to be a businessman interested in advertising with the paper, according to the document.
Months of discussions led to Headley's planned flight to Pakistan to meet with Kashmiri, the affidavit said.
Charged are David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48.
Headley was described as an American citizen who changed his name from Daood Gilani. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts involving murder and maiming outside the U.S. and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the conspiracy, according to a release from the U.S. attorney's office.
Rana, a native of Canada, was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign conspiracy involving Headley and three other individuals.
Both men remain in federal custody, officials said.
Federal officials said there was "no imminent danger in the Chicago area," and added the charges are not related to recent terror plot arrests in Boston, New York, Colorado, Texas and central Illinois.
Headley conducted surveillance of targets in Denmark beginning in 2008, and then reported to Ilyas Kashmiri, an operational chief in a Pakistani-based organization known as Harakat-ul Jihad Islami, which has links to al-Qaida, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
Headley also allegedly communicated with another terror organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Headley and the people he communicated with coded their plan for attacks over the cartoon as "The Mickey Mouse Project," according to the affidavit.
He allegedly traveled to Denmark in January 2009 and visited two offices of the newspaper that printed the cartoon, Jyllands-Posten, in Copenhagen and Arhus, Denmark. During his visits he claimed to be a businessman interested in advertising with the paper, according to the document.
Months of discussions led to Headley's planned flight to Pakistan to meet with Kashmiri, the affidavit said.
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