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The United States Justice Department unsealed charges Monday against a Libyan bomb expert suspected in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on Dec. 21, 1988, killing 270 people, including 35 Syracuse University students. Attorney General William Barr announced the charges on the 32nd anniversary of the terrorist attack, which is the deadliest in the United Kingdom’s history. Barr’s press conference was his last in his current role.

Abu Agila Mohammad Masud faces charges of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death, as well as destruction of a vehicle by means of an explosive resulting in death. After the bombing, Libyan leaders personally thanked Masud for his role in the attack, the Justice Department said.

U.S. officials are in discussions with Libya to take custody of Masud.

The charges, which are years in the making, are the product of work between Scottish investigators and U.S. officials, the Justice Department said.

Between 1973 and 2011, Masud worked as a technical expert in building explosive devices for the External Security Organization, a Libyan intelligence service used to quiet dissidents abroad and engage in terrorism. Masud served in a variety of roles in the service, the Justice Department said.

In addition to his involvement in the Lockerbie airplane bombing, Masud also participated in various plots against the U.S. and other countries, including the 1986 bombing of the LaBelle Discotheque in West Berlin, Germany, an attack that killed two U.S. service members and left others seriously injured or permanently disabled.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence officer, is the only person who has been convicted of being involved in the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack.

Barr, who began working in the Justice Department under former President George H.W. Bush, previously announced charges against al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, two men the U.S. suspected of placing the explosive devices in a suitcase bound for Pan Am Flight 103.

Due to challenges bringing the suspects to the U.S., the pair was tried in the Netherlands, where Fhimah was acquitted. Al-Megrahi was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in the attack but was released after being diagnosed with cancer. He died in 2012.

Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi eventually accepted Libya’s responsibility for the bombing.

Barr, who has been involved in the case since his work with the department started years ago, announced his resignation as President Donald Trump’s attorney general last week.

SU commemorates the victims of the attack during the university’s Remembrance Week, which will take place largely virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Published on December 21, 2020 at 2:34 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3