Who is David Headley, childhood friend of Tahawwur Rana and 26/11 attack plotter?
Rana and Headley were childhood friends from Pakistan, both educated from the same military school.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is being brought to India on a special flight on Thursday after his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition failed as the US Supreme Court justices rejected his application. Follow LIVE updates.
Tahawwur Rana, 64, is a close associate of one of the main conspirators of the attacks, David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen.
Headley’s movements in India at the time were made easier through the support of Tahawwur Rana. Rana and Headley were childhood friends from Pakistan, both educated from the same military school.
Who is David Headley?
David Coleman Headley, born Daood Sayed Gilani, is a Pakistani-American terrorist. His role in conducting surveillance of targets in the Mumbai attacks made him a central figure in the investigations that followed.
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Born in Washington DC to a Pakistani diplomat father and an American mother, Headley spent his early years in Pakistan, where he attended a military boarding school. He later moved to the United States and worked as a barman in Philadelphia. Despite his American upbringing, Headley developed ties with the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). In 1998, he was convicted of smuggling heroin into the US and sentenced to two years in prison. Upon his release, he began working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), conducting undercover operations in Pakistan.
Role in Mumbai attacks
Between 2002 and 2005, Headley attended at least five training camps run by LeT. Meanwhile, he also travelled to India multiple times between 2006 and 2008, posing as a business consultant.
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During these visits, he conducted extensive reconnaissance of major targets, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and Nariman House. His travel was facilitated by Tahawwur Rana’s immigration firm in the US that served as a front for Headley's espionage missions.
Headley was arrested in 2009 by US authorities for planning an attack on a Danish newspaper and for his role in the Mumbai attacks. He pleaded guilty in 2010 and avoided the death penalty in exchange for cooperation. His testimony provided crucial insights into LeT operations and Pakistan’s role in the 26/11 attacks. He is currently serving a 35-year sentence in a US prison.
