US authorities have taken into custody the man suspected of building the bomb that blew up PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, a US Justice Department spokesman said.
Defendant Abu Aguila Mohammad Masoud Khair Al-Marimi will be arraigned in federal court in Washington, the spokesman said.
Earlier, Scottish authorities announced that a Libyan suspected of building and planning the bomb that blew up PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, was being held in the United States.
“The families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing have been informed that the suspect, Abu Aguila Mohammad Massoud, is being held in the United States,” a statement from the Public Prosecution Service for Scotland said.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office and Police Scotland, in coordination with the US government and US colleagues, will continue the investigation with the sole aim of bringing to justice those who acted in concert with al-Megrahi”, the only person convicted in the case, it says in the announcement.
The target of the attack was the plane making the London-New York flight. The plane blew up on 21 December 1988 over Lockerbie, killing 259 on board and 11 people on the ground.
One and only man was convicted of this attack: the Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohammad al-Megrahi, who died in 2012. He pleaded not guilty until the end.
In December 2020, 32 years after the tragedy, the American judiciary announced the indictment of Abu Aguila Mohammad Massoud, a former member of the Intelligence services of Muammar Gaddafi, who at the time was held in Libya. He is suspected of building and planning the bomb.
The Lockerbie attack is the deadliest ever on UK soil, but also the second deadliest against Americans, after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
Muammar Gaddafi’s regime officially admitted responsibility for the 2003 Lockerbie attack and paid $2.7 billion in compensation to the victims’ families.
The investigation began again in 2016, when the US judiciary was informed that Agila Mohammad Massoud had been arrested after the overthrow of the Libyan dictator and had confessed his guilt to the Intelligence services of the new Libyan regime in 2012.
Source: News Beast
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
