London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 29, 2025

Libyan man suspected of making Lockerbie bomb in US custody

Libyan man suspected of making Lockerbie bomb in US custody

The man accused of making the bomb that killed 270 people after it blew up Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 is taken into United States custody.

A Libyan man suspected of making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988 is in US custody, according to law enforcement officials in Scotland and the United States.

The families of those killed in the so-called Lockerbie bombing have been told the suspect “Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi is in US custody”, Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said in a statement on Sunday.

The Crown Office added that “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.”

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was convicted of bombing the flight and was jailed for life in 2001.

Mas’ud was taken into custody about two years after the US filed charges against him in 2020, 32 years since the bombing that killed 270 people, including 190 from the US.

“At long last, this man responsible for killing Americans and many others will be subject to justice for his crimes,” William Barr, the US attorney general at the time, said at a news conference.

Mas’ud is expected to make his initial court appearance in a federal court in Washington, DC. Further details about the timing of the court hearing will be forthcoming, a US Department of Justice spokesperson said.

The Boeing 747, travelling from London to New York, exploded over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing all 259 people on board the plane and another 11 on the ground. It remains the deadliest attack on British soil.

In 1991, two other Libyan intelligence operatives were charged in the bombing: al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah.

Al-Megrahi is to date the only person convicted over the attack. He lost one appeal and abandoned another before being freed in 2009 on compassionate grounds because he was terminally ill with cancer.

He died in Libya in 2012, still protesting his innocence.


Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, left, and Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, right, Libyan agents accused in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103

Fhimah was acquitted of all charges, but Scottish prosecutors have maintained that al-Megrahi did not act alone.

In 2020 the US unsealed criminal charges against Mas’ud, saying he had worked as a technical expert in building explosive devices.

A breakthrough in the investigation came when US officials in 2017 received a copy of an interview that Mas’ud, an explosives expert for Libya’s intelligence service, had given to Libyan law enforcement.

This took place in 2012 after he was taken into custody, following the collapse of the government of the country’s longtime ruler, Muammar Gaddafi.

In that interview, US officials said, Mas’ud admitted building the bomb in the Pan Am attack and working with two other conspirators to carry it out.

He also said the operation was ordered by Libyan intelligence and that Gaddafi thanked him and other members of the team after the attack, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.

While Mas’ud is now the third Libyan intelligence official charged in the US in connection with the Lockerbie bombing, he would be the first to stand trial in a US courtroom.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
×