Washington/New Delhi, Apr 11 (Reporter) The United States has long supported India’s efforts to ensure that those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks are brought to justice, the US said as it extradited 26/11 key plotter Tahawwur Rana to India to face justice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement, also said that the United States and India “will continue to work together to combat the global scourge of terrorism”. “The United States extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India to face justice for his role in planning the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. “These attacks resulted in the tragic loss of 166 lives, including six Americans, and shocked the entire world.  The United States has long supported India’s efforts to ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice.  “As President Trump has said, the United States and India will continue to work together to combat the global scourge of terrorism.” Separately, the Department of Justice said in a statement: “The United States on Wednesday extradited convicted terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, to stand trial in India on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. “Rana’s extradition is a critical step toward seeking justice for the six Americans and scores of other victims who were killed in the heinous attacks.” “Rana, 64, is charged in India with numerous offenses, including conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act, and forgery, related to his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks committed by Laskhar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), a designated foreign terrorist organization. “Between November 26 and 29, 2008, 10 LeT terrorists carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai. They infiltrated the city by sea and then broke into teams, dispersing to multiple locations.” “When the terror finally subsided, 166 victims, including six Americans, were dead, along with all but one of the LeT terrorists. Hundreds more were injured, and Mumbai sustained more than $1.5 billion in property damage. The attacks were among the most horrific and catastrophic in India’s history.” “India alleges that Rana facilitated a fraudulent cover so that his childhood friend David Coleman Headley (Headley), a US citizen born Daood Gilani, could freely travel to Mumbai for the purpose of conducting surveillance of potential attack sites for LeT. “As India alleges, Headley had received training from LeT members in Pakistan and was in direct communication with LeT about plans to attack Mumbai. Among other things, Rana allegedly agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business and appoint Headley as the manager of the office, despite Headley’s having no immigration experience. “On two separate occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities that contained information Rana knew to be false. Rana also allegedly supplied, through his unsuspecting business partner, documentation in support of Headley’s attempt to secure formal approval from Indian authorities to open a branch office of Rana’s business. “Over the course of more than two years, Headley allegedly repeatedly met with Rana in Chicago and described his surveillance activities on behalf of LeT, LeT’s responses to Headley’s activities, and LeT’s potential plans for attacking Mumbai. “After the attacks were complete, Rana allegedly told Headley that the Indians “deserved it”. In an intercepted conversation with Headley, Rana allegedly commended the nine LeT terrorists who had been killed committing the attacks, saying that “[t]hey should be given Nishan-e-Haider”—Pakistan’s “highest award for gallantry in battle,” which is reserved for fallen soldiers. “India’s pending proceedings against Rana are not the first proceedings in which Rana has been accused of conspiring to commit violent acts of terrorism. “In 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison following his trial conviction in the Northern District of Illinois for conspiring to provide material support to LeT and to a foiled LeT-sponsored terrorist plot in Copenhagen, Denmark. As part of those same criminal proceedings, Headley pleaded guilty to 12 federal terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of the six Americans in Mumbai and later planning to attack a Danish newspaper, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. “In June 2020, the United States acted on a request for Rana’s extradition submitted by the Republic of India, which Rana contested for almost five years. On May 16, 2023, a US magistrate judge in the Central District of California certified Rana’s extradition to India. Rana then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which the US District Court in the Central District of California denied on August 10, 2023. “On August 15, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision. The Supreme Court likewise denied Rana’s petition for certiorari on January 21, 2025. The Secretary of State issued a warrant ordering Rana’s surrender to Indian authorities. Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit denied Rana’s application for a stay of extradition, and on April 7, the US Supreme Court denied Rana’s application for a stay of extradition. “On April 9, the US Marshals Service executed the Secretary’s surrender warrant by surrendering Rana to Indian authorities for transportation to India. Rana’s extradition is now complete...////...