North Sider's DVDs linked to Danish terror plot

DVDs produced by al-Qaida media wing, prosecutors say

Two al-Qaida DVDs found at the home of a North Side man are evidence of his involvement in a plot to kill a Danish newspaper cartoonist, federal prosecutors say.

One of the DVDs found at Tahawwur Rana's home features Osama bin Laden and is a testimonial to four jihadi "martyrs," according to a new prosecution court filing.

"It is quite clear that the planned Copenhagen attack involved and was intended to promote a crime of terrorism," prosecutors wrote in their bid to keep Rana behind bars pending trial.

Rana, 48, was arrested last month on charges he provided material support to another Chicago man -- David Headley, 49 -- who is accused of plotting to kill cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.

Westergaard sketched an image of the prophet Mohammed wearing a bomb as a turban, one of 12 cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 that sparked riots and protests throughout the Muslim world.

"It also is clear that any successful attack would serve as a warning to any other country that would allow its press to print the cartoons," prosecutors wrote.

A second DVD found at Rana's home -- titled "Bombing of Denmark Embassy" -- features a computer-simulation of a 2008 attack on a Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, prosecutors said.

Both were produced by As Sahab Media, which prosecutors described as al-Qaida's media wing.

Rana has denied the charges. Rana's lawyer declined to comment on the new filing. Rana's bail hearing, originally set for today, has been pushed back to next week.