Libya
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An alleged former Libyan intelligence agent accused of making the bomb that blew up a Pan Am jet over Scotland in 1988, killing 270 people, appeared in a US court Monday to face charges, AFP reported.

Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir al-Marimi, who allegedly worked as an intelligence operative for the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi between 1973 and 2011, faces three counts related to the Lockerbie bombing.

Federal prosecutors said they did not intend to seek the death penalty but Masud could face life in prison if convicted of "destruction of an aircraft resulting in death" and two other related charges.

The judge presiding over the hearing in a US District Court in Washington read the 71-year-old Masud the charges and his rights before ordering him held without bond until a detention hearing on December 27.

Masud was provided with an Arabic interpreter for the hearing, his first court appearance since being brought to the United States.

The hearing comes a day after Scottish prosecutors announced that the Tunisian-born Masud was in American hands, but officials have not provided any details on how he had been transferred to US custody.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Masud's arrest was "an important step forward in our mission to honor the victims and pursue justice on behalf of their loved ones.

"American and Scottish law enforcement have worked tirelessly to identify, find, and bring to justice the perpetrators of this horrific attack," Garland said.

The New York-bound aircraft was blown up 38 minutes after it took off from London on December 21, 1988. The bombing killed 259 people including 190 Americans on board, and 11 people on the ground.

Only one individual has so far been prosecuted for the bombing: Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who spent seven years in a Scottish prison after his conviction in 2001.

He died in Libya in 2012. The United States and Britain both asked the Libyan rebels, who took over after the ouster of Qaddafi, that al-Megrahi be extradited so that justice could be done, but were told that Libya would not extradite any citizen to a Western nation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked those who helped bring Masud into US custody "following an intensive diplomatic effort."

"The prosecution of Masud is the product of years of cooperation between US and Scottish authorities and the efforts of Libyan authorities over many years," Blinken said.