A Libyan man suspected of masterminding the bomb that blew up a plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, has been detained in the United States, Scottish authorities said on Sunday.
“The families of the victims of the Lockerbie attack have been informed that the suspect, Abu Agila Mohamad Massud, is in US custody,” the Scottish prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The December 21 attack on Pan Am Flight 103 en route from London to New York killed all 259 on board and 11 others in the Scottish city.
In 1991, two Libyan intelligence agents were accused of the attack: Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah.
Megrahi was found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001. He was later released as he suffered from cancer and died in 2012.
Fhimah was acquitted of all charges, but Scottish prosecutors maintained that Megrahi did not act alone.
In December 2020, US Justice announced that it was looking for Abu Agila Mohamad Massoud, suspected of having manufactured and programmed the bomb. He would also be a former member of the intelligence services of the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, assassinated in 2011 during a popular uprising.
The Libyan regime officially acknowledged its responsibility for the 2003 attack and paid $2.7 billion in compensation to the victims’ families.
A Justice Department official said Mas’ud is expected to make his first appearance in federal court in Washington, DC, and that more details about the hearing will be released.
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