Two men arrested in alleged terror plot

CHICAGO, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Two Chicago men were arrested in an alleged terror plot with targets in Denmark after a Danish newspaper published cartoons angering Muslims, officials said.

David Coleman Headley and Tahawwar Hussein Rana have been in U.S. custody for several days while officials continued their investigation, the U.S. Justice Department said in a release Tuesday.

Headley, a U.S. citizen, was arrested Oct. 3 and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts abroad and outside the United States and a count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorist groups. He was arrested at Chicago O'Hare International Airport before boarding a flight that ended in Pakistan.

Rana, a native of Pakistan and Canadian citizen, was arrested Oct. 18 and charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorism group.

The complaints allege Headley identified and reconnoitered potential targets of a terrorist attack in Denmark on two trips to Denmark, reporting his findings to other conspirators in Pakistan. Rana allegedly helped arrange Headley's travels overseas, hid their true nature and discussed potential targets with Headley, the complaints said.

Both men allegedly were associated with the so-called Mickey Mouse Project, involving the planning of attacks on the facilities and employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper that in 2005 published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, offensive to many Muslims, the department said.

"The public should be reassured that there was no imminent danger in the Chicago area. However, law enforcement has the duty to be vigilant to guard against not just those who would carry out attacks here on our soil but those who plot on our soil to help carry out violent attacks overseas," said Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.