American in Mumbai terror plot is sentenced in US

CHICAGO (AP) - Prosecutors are seeking a relatively lenient sentence on Thursday for an American who helped plan the 2008 terrorist rampage in Mumbai, citing his cooperation with investigators.

David Coleman Headley, 52, faces a maximum life term for his role in a three-day rampage in which 10 gunmen from a Pakistani-based militant group fanned out across Mumbai, attacking a crowded train station, the landmark Taj Mahal Hotel and other targets. Around 160 people were killed, including children.

Prosecutors, though, are asking for a relatively lenient term of 30 to 35 years, which leaves open the possibility Headley one day could go free.

Headley, a small-time US drug dealer-turned-terrorist plotter, seemed to leap at the chance to spill secrets following his 2009 arrest and continued providing details even after the US government agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for his cooperation.