Headley pleads guilty to helping plan 2008 Mumbai attacks

WASHINGTON - Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he helped plan the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and a plot against the offices of a Danish newspaper.

Headley, 49, of Chicago pleaded guilty to all 12 federal terrorism charges that were first brought against him in December, reversing an earlier plea of not guilty.

Headley admitted to conducting surveillance of targets in Mumbai for the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar e Tayyiba, which claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed more than 160 people. He also attended training camps in Pakistan between 2002 and 2005.

Headley admitted he was tasked by Lashkar to conduct surveillance of the headquarters of Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, which in 2005 published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed that sparked violent protests in the Muslim world.

Headley previously entered a not guilty plea in federal court in Chicago, but reversed his plea before a judge Thursday. Prosecutors in turn agreed not to seek the death penalty against Headley, on the condition that he continue cooperating with authorities.

A co-defendant, Tahawwur Rana, 49, also of Chicago, continues to plead not guilty. Rana was charged in January on three counts of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks and Denmark plot.

“Today’s guilty plea is a crucial step forward in our efforts to achieve justice for the more than 160 people who lost their lives in the Mumbai terrorist attack,” US Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.