Lockerbie bombing: Second new suspect revealed as ‘Gaddafi’s spy chief brother-in-law nicknamed The Butcher’
A SECOND new suspect in the Lockerbie bombing has been revealed as Colonel Gaddafi's spy chief brother-in-law, it's reported.
The move comes as US prosecutors are set to prepare to charge a top Libyan bomb-maker for his suspected role in the disaster - 32 years on.
American authorities are set to request the extradition of former Libyan intelligence officer Abu Agila Mohammad Masud in connection with the attack, which killed 270 people.
They allege he assembled the device that blew up Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988.
But now it's reported that the Libyan government believe US investigators also have fresh evidence linking a second suspect to the atrocity.
Abdullah al-Senussi, the former intelligence chief and brother-in-law of toppled dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is being examined in the latest probe, the reports.
Al-Senussi - nicknamed "the butcher" - was sentenced to death by firing squad in Libya.
However, he is still alive and currently in prison.
It is understood both men are in jail in Tripoli where most former members of the Gaddafi regime are held.
Masud was an explosives expert for the dictator.
The Mail reports that Mohammed Ali Abdallah, a senior adviser to the Libyan government on US affairs, said: "I am aware that US prosecutors have re-opened the investigation, and are focused on two individuals with regards to their role in the Lockerbie case.
"The US prosecutors have indicated that they have new evidence that links these two men to the bombing of the PanAm 103 flight."
The US Justice Department is to unveil a criminal complaint in the coming days against Masud and seek his extradition for trial on the charges, the .
If successful, it would be the first US trial related to the incident.
Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 by Scottish judges for playing a role in the attack, but was released after eight years on “compassionate grounds”. He died in 2012.
The Lockerbie tragedy - and a 30-year fight for justice
PAN Am flight 103 blew up in the sky 31,000ft over Lockerbie in Scotland on December 21 1988.
The flight had been on the way from London to New York.
All 259 on board were killed, along with 11 on the ground.
In November 1991, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah were charged with 270 murders.
However, Libya refused to hand over the two intelligence agents - leading the UN to impose sanctions.
They were finally flown into Dutch custody in April 1999
In January 2001, Megrahi was found guilty under Scottish law. Judges recommend a minimum of 20 years.
But eight years later, Megrahi was freed. He was released on compassionate grounds after a cancer diagnoses.
Gaddafi was killed in October 2011 - and the following May, Megrahi died in Tripoli.
But Scottish justice chiefs vowed to keep searching for his accomplices two years after his death.
News of two new suspects comes more than 30 years after the disaster.
The bombing, just a few days before Christmas on December 21, killed 270 people, including 190 Americans who were on board.
It led US lawmakers to brand Libya as a state sponsor of terror and forced the Libyan government in 2003 to pay more than $1billion compensation to the victim’s families.
US Attorney General Bill Barr, who headed a press conference in 1991 announcing charges against Megrahi, is expected to announce the new case in the next few days.
Barr is soon to leave his post.
But in 1991, he said: “We will not rest until all those responsible are brought to justice.”
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Kent Syverud, chancellor of Syracuse University, New York, who lost 35 students in the blast, said the victims will never be forgotten.
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He said: “Like all of the families, friends and loved ones of the victims, we eagerly await the day when all those responsible are brought to justice, no matter how long it takes.”
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service told the BBC: “This is an ongoing investigation and we have no comment to make at this time.”
