David Headley

David Coleman Headley (born Dawood Sayed Gilani; June 30, 1960) is a Pakistani-American Islamic terrorist and the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai islamic terrorist attacks. He played a key role in orchestrating the attacks, working with the Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Headley conducted extensive surveillance and reconnaissance missions throughout central Mumbai, providing critical information that facilitated the planning and execution of the attacks. Additionally, he, along with his accomplice terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana, was involved in an unsuccessful plot to carry out a terrorist attack in Copenhagen, Denmark, targeting the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

Born in Washington D.C., he became a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant as part of his plea deal following multiple heroin related offenses, including attempting to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. from Pakistan. After being placed on probation he made frequent unauthorized visits to Pakistan and became involved in the local jihad after being introduced to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Under the direction of Lashkar representatives, Headley performed five surveillance missions in Mumbai to scout targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The following year, he performed a similar mission in Copenhagen, Denmark to help plot an attack against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which had published cartoons of Muhammad. Headley was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago with co-conspirator Tahawwur Hussain Rana while on his way to Pakistan in October 2009. On January 24, 2013, a U.S. federal court sentenced Headley to 35 years in prison for his role in Mumbai and Copenhagen.

In India, a Mumbai special court held a trial in absentia for Headley in early February 2016, via a video link from his prison cell in the United States.