CHICAGO (CN) - David Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty Thursday to 12 federal terrorism charges, admitting he helped plan the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed 164 people, including 6 Americans. Headley, 49, of Chicago, admitted he attended terrorist training camps run by Lashkar e Tayyiba in Pakistan, and also planned to attack a Danish newspaper.
Headley admitted that on orders from Lashkar e Tayyiba he conducted surveillance in Mumbai five times before the November 2008 slaughter.
Headley "provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation, and also has provided information of significant intelligence value," so prosecutors will not seek the death penalty, the Justice Department said in a statement. He is expected to be sentenced to life in prison.
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