Libyan national Abu Agila Masud, accused of building the bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, is now detained by US police. Already two years ago the United States had formalized the charges against Masud, who however was at liberty and in Libya: a month ago the news had spread that he had been captured by a local militia, and it was therefore anticipated that he could be handed over to the American authorities who want to try him.
Pan Am Flight 103 had departed London on December 21, 1988 and was bound for New York, but exploded over the small town of Lockerbie, near the border between Scotland and England. All 259 people on board died, and 11 others who were ashore and were struck by the debris. It is still one of the most serious terrorist attacks in Europe.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence agent, was the only one convicted of the massacre, and after being extradited from Libya in 1999 he began serving a life sentence in the UK. He was later released on ill health in 2009, and died three years later. He always pleaded innocent, and his conviction was accompanied and followed by extensive doubts. Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi admitted responsibility for the attack in 2003, while denying having ordered it personally, and paid reparations to the victims.
