The attacks in Mumbai left 174 people dead

A Pakistani militant leader a former Pakistani army officer and a man from Chicago have been charged in the US over the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Militant chief Ilyas Kashmiri and ex-army officer Abdur Rehman were also charged with plotting to attack the offices of a Danish newspaper.

Neither has yet been arrested. Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana had already been charged with the newspaper plot.

The Mumbai attacks left 174 people, including nine gunmen, dead.

All three men are accused of helping to lay the groundwork for the November 2008 attacks in the Indian city.

Last October, Mr Rana was arrested and charged with plotting overseas attacks including one on the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten.

He was arrested with David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American accused of having helped identify targets for the Mumbai attacks and also of plotting to attack the newspaper.

On Thursday, extra charges in connection with the Danish newspaper plot and new charges relating to the Mumbai attacks were filed against Mr Rana.

The Jyllands-Posten's decision to publish a series of cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed in 2005 sparked angry and violent protests from Muslims in several countries.

Both men have denied the charges.

US prosecutors have now charged retired Pakistani army officer Abdur Rehman and Ilyas Kashmiri, a leader of an outlawed Pakistan-based militant group with plotting the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

Abdur Rehman is believed to be living in Pakistan, while Ilyas Kashmiri is said to be living in the Pakistani tribal areas in Waziristan.

Ilyas Kashmiri was reported to have been killed by an air strike in September 2009 - but reports since then have said he was alive.

It is very difficult to confirm information from Pakistan's north-western tribal belt.