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Suspected Lockerbie bombmaker 'is in US custody'

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A Libyan man accused of being the bombmaker behind the Lockerbie bombing is in custody in the US.

Abu Agila Masud was today being held by the Americans on suspicion of playing the key role in destroying the Pan Am flight 103 34 years ago.

The explosion on board the Boeing 747 left 270 people dead and is still the deadliest terror attack to have ever happened in Britain.

It was announced by the Scottish authorities in a statement from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, which said: 'The families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have been told that the suspect Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi ('Mas'ud' or 'Masoud') is in US custody.

Abu Agila Masud (second left) sits behind bars during a hearing at a courtroom in Tripoli November 16, 2014. He is said to have told investigators how he positioned the device near metal in the suitcase to avoid detection by airport scanners

Abu Agila Masud (second left) sits behind bars during a hearing at a courtroom in Tripoli November 16, 2014. He is said to have told investigators how he positioned the device near metal in the suitcase to avoid detection by airport scanners

The Pan Am flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on December 21, 1988, en route to New York City and then Detroit. Among the 190 Americans on board were 35 Syracuse University students flying home for Christmas

The Pan Am flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on December 21, 1988, en route to New York City and then Detroit. Among the 190 Americans on board were 35 Syracuse University students flying home for Christmas

'Scottish prosecutors and police, working with UK government and US colleagues, will continue to pursue this investigation, with the sole aim of bringing those who acted along with Al Megrahi to justice.'

It came a month after reports Masud had been kidnapped by a militia group in Libya.

Abdul Basset al Megrahi is the only person to be convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

The United States on Monday unsealed criminal charges against Masud, the third alleged conspirator in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, mostly Americans

The United States on Monday unsealed criminal charges against Masud, the third alleged conspirator in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, mostly Americans

Victims, pictured, of the bombing included dozens of American college students

Victims, pictured, of the bombing included dozens of American college students

He was jailed for life but was released on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government in 2009 after being diagnosed with cancer and died in Libya in 2012.

The Pan Am flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on December 21, 1988, en route to New York City and then Detroit. 

Among the 190 Americans on board were 35 Syracuse University students flying home for Christmas after a semester abroad. 

 

Who was Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi?  

Former Libyian intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing which claimed 270 lives

Former Libyian intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing which claimed 270 lives

Former Libyian intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing which claimed 270 lives. 

He was jailed in 2001 for his role in the attack that brought down Pan Am flight 103 on December 21, 1988, in what became the worst terrorist attack on British soil. 

The Boeing 747 jet took off from London Heathrow airport around 30 minutes before it exploded as it cruised at 31,000 feet above the Scottish borders. 

Al-Megrahi was convicted on the basis of evidence from Maltese shop owner Tony Gauci, who died in 2016 aged 75.   

Gauci ran a clothes shop in Swieqi, Malta, at the time of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and claimed that Megrahi bought a piece of clothing found among the debris of the aircraft.

His evidence helped to secure the 2001 conviction of the former Libyan intelligence officer for the atrocity in which 270 people died, including 11 people on the ground. But some doubts were subsequently raised about Mr Gauci's reliability.

Megrahi was the only person to have been convicted of the bombing over the south of Scotland on December 21 1988.

He was jailed for life but an investigation by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) led to a finding in 2007 of six grounds where it is believed a miscarriage of justice may have occurred, paving the way for a second appeal.

The Libyan dropped that appeal in 2009 before being released from jail on compassionate grounds due to his terminal prostate cancer. He died protesting his innocence in Libya in 2012.

The trial judgment detailed how the three judges were satisfied Megrahi had walked into Mr Gauci's shop and bought items of clothing which ended up packed around the bomb that exploded in a suitcase on board the flight.

Al-Megrahi, pictured here following his release from prison on compassionate grounds in 2009 claimed he was innocent of the crime

Al-Megrahi, pictured here following his release from prison on compassionate grounds in 2009 claimed he was innocent of the crime

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