26/11 conspirator Tahawwur Rana had planned to behead journalists of this newspaper under 'Mickey Mouse Project'
Mumbai: 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks prime accused Tahawwur Rana had also plotted a transnational terror plan targeting the Danish publication Jyllands-Posten, media reports said.
The 64-year-old Canadian national of Pakistani origin had planned to behead the staff of the Danish newspaper to take revenge after it published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in 2005.
While Rana has been named in the conspiracy case filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in relation to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, which claimed 166 lives, probes and witness accounts have also linked him to the disturbing plot with a peculiar codename—The Mickey Mouse Project, according to an NDTV report.
During the 26/11 probe, investigators learned about his plans to conduct the gruesome attack on the Danish publication.
On Thursday, Rana was brought to India through extradition after a wait of 17 years.
Authorities confirmed that the 64-year-old is being transported on a special flight and will be presented before a Delhi court on Thursday, April 10.
What was 'The Mickey Mouse Project'?
Beneath its deceptively light name, The Mickey Mouse Project was a transnational terror plan targeting the Danish publication Jyllands-Posten.
The newspaper had become the focus of anger from radical Islamist groups after it published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in 2005.
At the time, the illustrations had sparked global outrage and mass protests across the Muslim world.
Rana, along with his associate David Headley, allegedly planned an attack to take revenge.
Headley testified that the idea was to raid the newspaper’s Copenhagen office using guns and explosives.
Their intended targets were Flemming Rose, the cultural editor, and cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose drawings had provoked backlash.
According to the FBI, the planned attack was extremely gruesome in nature, with the objective of beheading staff members and hurling their heads onto Copenhagen’s streets as an act of terror.
Why the plan was never executed
Rana, who had earlier trained as a cadet in the Pakistani military and later became a medical professional, eventually migrated to Canada, obtained citizenship, and settled in Chicago.
He and Headley used the term 'Mickey Mouse Project' as a cover for their violent motives.
However, the plan was ultimately thwarted.
Headley was arrested in October 2009, halting any further progress.
He later entered into a plea agreement with US authorities, confessing to his role in both the Danish plot and the reconnaissance for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
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