Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

US man admits Mumbai terror role

Updated at 10:54 am on 19 March 2010

An American citizen has pleaded guilty in a court in Chicago to a dozen terrorism charges, most of them over a deadly attack in India.

The charges against David Headley relate to the four-day siege on Mumbai in 2008 that left more than 160 people dead, and a planned attack in Denmark.

Authorities believe Headley scouted targets in Mumbai for more than two years to set up the November 2008 attacks, CNN reports

He was also accused of planning a terrorist attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons in 2005 depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a way that offended many Muslims.

He could have faced the death penalty if convicted, but in return for his guilty plea and agreement to cooperate, the US government has taken execution off the table.

A US district court judge said Headley, a Pakistani-American, could still be jailed for life, the BBC reports.

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