Lockerbie bombing suspect's US trial slated for August 2026

On December 21, 1988, a bomb hidden in a suitcase exploded aboard Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers and crew and 11 people on the ground – a total of 270 victims, including 190 Americans. The attack remained the deadliest terrorist act against the United States until the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Former Libyan intelligence operative Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al‑Marimi, alleged bomb‑maker of the Semtex device, will face his first U.S. trial for the Lockerbie bombing. After being seized in Tripoli in December 2022 and transferred to the FBI, Masud has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on August 24, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Prosecutors cite a 2012 statement to Libyan investigators in which Masud reportedly admitted building the bomb, transporting it to Malta, and handing the suitcase to co‑accused Lamin Khalifa Fhimah, with thanks from then‑leader Muammar Gaddafi.