WASHINGTON: A Libyan intelligence official accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 in an international act of terrorism has been detained in the United States and will face federal charges in Washington, according to the Justice Department.

The arrest of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi marks a significant step forward in the decades-long investigation into the attack, which killed 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground. Mas'ud, who was in Libyan custody then, was charged by American authorities in December 2020.

Despite being the third Libyan intelligence official accused in the United States in connection with the attack, he would be the first to face prosecution in an American courtroom.

On December 21, 1988, a Pan Am flight bound for New York exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, less than an hour after takeoff from London. Citizens from 21 countries were murdered. Among the 190 Americans on board were 35 Syracuse University students returning home for the holidays after studying abroad for a semester.

More than a decade before the September 11 attacks, the bombing exposed the threat of international terrorism. It resulted in global investigations and punitive sanctions, as well as demands for accountability from victims of those killed. Kent Syverud, the university's current chancellor, said in a statement that the arrest was a significant step in the long process of "bringing those responsible for this despicable act to justice."

The announcement of charges against Mas’ud on Dec. 21, 2020, came on the 32nd anniversary of the bombing and in the final days of the tenure of then-Attorney General William Barr, who in his first stint as attorney general in the early 1990s had announced criminal charges against two other Libyans intelligence officials.

A woman whose husband was among the 270 victims said she thought she was "living in a dream when I was told what had happened".

The Libyan government initially balked at turning over the two men, Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, before ultimately surrendering them for prosecution before a panel of Scottish judges sitting in the Netherlands as part of a special arrangement.

Mas'ud is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., on two criminal counts related to the explosion, according to the Justice Department.

US officials did not say how Mas'ud came to be in US custody, but local Libyan media reported late last month that Mas'ud was kidnapped by armed men on Nov. 16 from his home in Tripoli, the capital. According to the report, a family statement accused Tripoli authorities of remaining silent about the kidnapping.

Libya has been torn by civil war since 2011. Militia groups have amassed great wealth and power from kidnappings. U.S. officials in 2017 received a copy of an interview that Mas'ud gave to Libyan law enforcement in 2012 after being taken into custody following the collapse of the government of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

In an interview with U.S. officials, Mas'ud says he helped build the bomb in the Pan Am attack. He also says Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi thanked him and other members of the team after the attack. In an affidavit, he says he flew to Malta to meet al-Megrahi and Fhimah and handed them a suitcase with a bomb inside.

In the Netherlands, Al-Megrahi was convicted, while Fhimah was acquitted of all charges. Al-Megrahi was sentenced to life in prison, but he was released on humanitarian grounds in 2009 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He died in Tripoli, still claiming his innocence.

When the charges against Mas'ud were announced in 2020, Barr stated that the US and Scotland would use "every feasible and appropriate means" to bring him to trial.

"At long last, this man responsible for the deaths of Americans and others will face justice for his crimes," Barr said at the time.

The arrest was also announced on Sunday by Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, who said in a statement that "the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have been informed that the suspect is in US custody."

"Scottish prosecutors and police, working with UK government and US colleagues, will continue to pursue this investigation, with the sole aim of bringing those who acted alongside al-Megrahi to justice," according to the statement.