Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service told the BBC on Sunday that Libyan national Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi is in US custody. Mas’ud was allegedly involved in making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988. A spokesperson said the Crown Office has informed the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing of the update.
US officials confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that Mas’ud was transferred out of Libyan custody and was en route to the US. The US announced charges against Mas’ud two years ago for his alleged role in the bombing, which was the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place on British soil.
The blast aboard the Boeing 747 left 270 people dead, including all 259 passengers and crew who were traveling from London to New York and an additional 11 people who were killed in Lockerbie when the wreckage destroyed their homes. Twelve of the passengers were from Pennsylvania, including seven from the Pittsburgh area.
The Crown Office has vowed to continue its investigation in collaboration with UK and US authorities.