Lockerbie plane bombing suspect taken into U.S. custody - Reuters

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A Libyan antheral accused of making the weaponry that killed 270 radical aft it blew up Pan Am formation 103 implicit Lockerbie successful Scotland successful 1988 is successful custody successful the United States, Scottish and U.S. instrumentality enforcement officials said connected Sunday.

Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi was taken into custody astir 2 years aft erstwhile U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr archetypal announced the United States filed charges against him.

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to Reuters connected Sunday that the United States has custody of the suspect. Mas'ud is expected to marque his archetypal tribunal quality successful a national tribunal successful Washington.

Details astir the timing of the proceeding volition beryllium forthcoming, the spokesperson added.

Court documents described Mas'ud arsenic an adept bombmaker who joined Libya's External Security Organization quality work successful the 1970s and took portion successful a fig of operations extracurricular Libya, reaching the fertile of colonel.

A subject root successful the Libyan metropolis of Misrata said Mas'ud had been flown from the airdrome there. Reuters could not instantly found when.

The families of those killed successful the Lockerbie bombing person been told the fishy is successful U.S. custody, a spokesperson for Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said connected Sunday.

The BBC archetypal reported Mas'ud's arrest.

The weaponry connected committee the Boeing 747, which was flying from London to New York City, killed each 259 radical connected committee and 11 connected the ground, the deadliest ever militant onslaught successful Britain.

The transgression country from the onslaught stretched for much than 840 quadrate miles (2,175 quadrate km).

In 1991, 2 different Libyan quality operatives were charged successful the bombing: Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah.

At a Scottish proceedings earlier a tribunal astatine Camp Zeist successful The Netherlands, Megrahi was recovered blameworthy of the bombing and was jailed for beingness successful 2001. He was aboriginal released due to the fact that helium was suffering from crab and died astatine his location successful Tripoli successful 2012.

Fhimah was acquitted of each charges, but Scottish prosecutors person maintained that Megrahi did not enactment alone.

In 2020 the United States unsealed transgression charges against Mas'ud, a suspected 3rd conspirator, adding helium had worked arsenic a method adept successful gathering explosive devices.

At the clip of the bombing, U.S. investigators uncovered grounds that 1 of the imaginable suspects went by the sanction of "Abu Agela Masud," but were incapable to find him, according to a sworn connection by an FBI cause successful enactment of the government's transgression complaint.

Decades later, the FBI obtained a transcript of a Sept. 12, 2012, interrogation of Mas'ud conducted by a Libyan instrumentality enforcement serviceman portion helium was successful custody there.

During the interview, Mas'ud "admitted to gathering the weaponry that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 and to moving with Megrahi and Fhimah to execute the plot," the FBI agent's connection says.

Mas'ud besides told the interviewer helium was progressive successful different akin plots, and said the bombing was ordered by Libyan quality leadership.

He besides said erstwhile Libyan person Muammar Qadaffi, who was killed by rebels successful October 2011, "thanked him and different members of the squad for their palmy onslaught connected the United States."

The cause who filed the connection said the FBI was capable to corroborate Mas'ud's confession done the people of its investigation.

The handover of Mas'ud for proceedings successful the West prompted infighting among Libyan politicians, who are divided betwixt a parliament based successful the eastbound of the state and a Government of National Unity successful Tripoli.

Some eastbound lawmakers accused Prime Minister Abdulhamd al-Dbeibah of doing Washington's bidding contempt the deficiency of an extradition treaty.

Reporting by Alistair Smout successful London and Sarah N. Lynch successful Washington; Additional reporting by Reuters Libya newsroom; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Frances Kerry, Lisa Shumaker and Daniel Wallis

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