U.S. Justice Department charges Libyan man over Lockerbie bombing

William Barr has demanded that Libya extradite a suspect in the Lockerbie bombing. The suspect is a former Libyan intelligence officer who allegedly built the bomb for the attack, Barr said. The man is in custody in Libya, he said. The U.S. government will ask the Libyan leadership to extradite him so he can be tried in the United States, Barr said. He said he is optimistic that the Libyan government will comply with the request.

A jumbo jet operated by U.S. airline Pan Am had crashed into the Scottish village of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988. The attack killed 270 people, including eleven villagers. The plane was en route from London to New York at the time. Most of the fatalities were Americans. Barr said the attack was clearly directed against the United States.