Kashmiri planed to kill Lockheed CEO over drone attack: Headley

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LeT operative David Headley on Tuesday testified before a US court that al Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri had a plan to kill CEO of Lockheed Martin in frustration over drone attacks along the Af-Pak border and had sent men for surveillance.

Testifying in the resumed hearing on the Mumbai attack trial, Headley said following his arrest he had offered to help FBI by giving a sword implanted with a chip to Kashmiri so that he could be targeted by drone attacks.

"There was a plan to kill him because he was making drones," Headley testified during the trial of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Mumbai attack co-accused.

50-year-old Headley, a Pakistani-American, said this while being cross-examined by defence lawyer of Tawahhur Hussain Rana, a 26/11 co-accused and a Canadian of Pakistani origin who is standing trial after being slapped with a dozen charges in connection with the Mumbai attacks in which 166 persons were killed.

"(Ilyas) Kashmiri had plan to kill CEO of Lockheed Martin to stop any further drone attacks," Headley said, adding the dreaded al Qaeda leader plotted the killing out of frustration over the attacks on the volatile Af-Pak border.

Lockheed are manufacturers of drone planes which are being used by American forces to strike targets at militant hideouts. Headley replied in the negative when asked if he was working on a plot to kill the Lockheed Martin boss.