• The remnants of a Pan Am commercial aircraft lie in a field in Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988. AFP
    The remnants of a Pan Am commercial aircraft lie in a field in Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988. AFP
  • Local residents look at one of the four engines of the Pan Am jet on a street in Lockerbie. AFP
    Local residents look at one of the four engines of the Pan Am jet on a street in Lockerbie. AFP
  • The Boeing 747 'Clipper Maid of the Seas, which was flying from London to New York, was destroyed when a bomb was detonated in its forward cargo hold. AFP
    The Boeing 747 'Clipper Maid of the Seas, which was flying from London to New York, was destroyed when a bomb was detonated in its forward cargo hold. AFP
  • The bombing of the jumbo jet killed all 259 people on board and another 11 people on the ground. AFP
    The bombing of the jumbo jet killed all 259 people on board and another 11 people on the ground. AFP
  • Police and investigators look at what remains of the nose of Pan Am Flight 103 in a field in Lockerbie in December 1988. AP
    Police and investigators look at what remains of the nose of Pan Am Flight 103 in a field in Lockerbie in December 1988. AP
  • The nose section of the crashed Boeing 747. AP
    The nose section of the crashed Boeing 747. AP
  • Houses destroyed by the downed jet. Getty
    Houses destroyed by the downed jet. Getty
  • The bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place in the UK. Getty
    The bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place in the UK. Getty
  • A memorial to those killed in the 1988 bombing in Lockerbie. Reuters
    A memorial to those killed in the 1988 bombing in Lockerbie. Reuters
  • Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, second from left, a Libyan man accused of making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103, has been taken into US custody. He was charged by the US two years ago in connection with the Lockerbie bombing. Reuters
    Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, second from left, a Libyan man accused of making the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103, has been taken into US custody. He was charged by the US two years ago in connection with the Lockerbie bombing. Reuters
  • Some of the destruction caused by Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed. Getty
    Some of the destruction caused by Pan Am Flight 103 after it crashed. Getty
  • Investigators reconstructed parts of the jet and proved a bomb caused the crash. Getty
    Investigators reconstructed parts of the jet and proved a bomb caused the crash. Getty
  • Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, the only person convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, was released early from prison after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died in May 2012. Many have maintained that Al Megrahi was innocent.
    Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, the only person convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, was released early from prison after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died in May 2012. Many have maintained that Al Megrahi was innocent.

World

How the Lockerbie bombing investigation unfolded

A third 'person of interest', Abu Agila Masud, is now in US custody

Nada AlTaher
Nada AlTaher

December 12, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Abu Agila Masud has become only the third person to face charges over the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland at 7.03pm local time, 38 minutes after taking off from London, killing all 259 people on board and 11 in the town below.

The arrest of Mr Masud, the alleged bomb maker, continues the long quest for justice for the victims and their families. These are the key developments in the investigation to find those responsible, and related developments.

November 1991: Criminal charges are filed against two Libyans, Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, in Scotland and the US.

1999: Libya hands the two suspects over to face trial.

May 2000: The trial begins in a specially established court of three Scottish judges in Camp Zeist, a former US base in the Netherlands.

January 2001: Megrahi is convicted on 270 counts of murder and Mr Fhimah is acquitted.

2003: Libya accepts responsibility for the bombing and agrees to pay compensation of $10 million for each of the 270 people aboard the plane.

2006: The US lifts its designation of Libya as an international sponsor of terrorism, imposed in 1979.

October 2011: Muammar Qaddafi is deposed and killed

2017: The FBI obtains a copy of an interview conducted with a third bombing suspect, Abu Agila Masud. He is believed to be a bomb maker and to have worked for Libyan intelligence, conducting operations abroad, from 1973 to 2011.

March 2020: The FBI finally gets clarification from the Libyan authorities on the interview and learns that it actually took place on September 12, 2012 while Mr Masud was in Libyan custody.

They learn that Mr Masud said he had worked with Megrahi and Mr Fhimah to carry out the Lockerbie bombing.

December 11, 2022: US and Scottish authorities announce that Masud is in custody in the US.

Updated: June 20, 2023, 1:16 PM
ScotlandUSTerrorismLibya