Rana Tahawwur jury deliberates Mumbai attacks verdict

Prosecutors say Mr Rana (front left with white beard) used his immigration services firm as cover for the plot

The jury is set to begin deliberations in the trial of Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana who is accused of helping plan the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Prosecutors say Mr Rana, 50, gave cover to former friend David Headley's missions to scout sites for the attacks that killed more than 160.

Mr Rana denies the charges and says Headley tricked him.

Headley, who admits helping to plan the attacks, testified that Pakistani intelligence officers aided the plot.

More than 160 people were killed in November 2008 when a group of 10 men stormed a train station, hotels and cafes and a Jewish centre, shooting and throwing bombs.

Plot stopped

Mr Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian, is also accused of plotting an attack - never carried out - on a Danish newspaper in revenge for its printing of an image of the Prophet Muhammad.

"When it's all said and done, this is a simple case about awful things - two terror plots," prosecutor Victoria Peters told jurors in closing arguments on Tuesday. "One that was carried out and one that was, mercifully, stopped."

Prosecutors say that in 2006 Mr Rana allowed Headley to open an office of his Chicago-based immigration services firm in Mumbai, which Headley then used as cover to scout sites for the attacks.

Mr Rana is also accused of allowing Headley to pose as a representative of his firm in order to gain access to newspaper offices by feigning interest in purchasing advertising space.

Mr Rana's defence team has said he was manipulated and mislead by Mr Headley, an old friend from their days in a Pakistani military school.

Pakistanis accused

He is charged with one count of providing material support for the Mumbai attacks, one count of providing material support in the Denmark terrorism plot, and one count of providing material support to Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which planned and executed the Mumbai attack.

More than 160 people were killed in Mumbai in November 2008 when a group of 10 men stormed a train station, hotels and cafes and a Jewish centre, shooting and throwing bombs.

At the opening of Mr Rana's trial last month, Headley testified that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) provided military and moral support to LeT.

Pakistan has denied the allegations.

In March 2010, Headley, a US citizen who spent much of his childhood in Pakistan, pleaded guilty to taking photographs and video of the targets. He could face up to life in prison and a $3m (£1.86m) fine.