Zeenews Bureau
Tripoli: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people, has died at his home in Libyan capital, Triploi, his brother, Abdulhakim told a news agency on Sunday.
Doctors are yet to determine the cause of death, he said.
60 year old Megrahi was fighting with terminal prostate cancer from a long time. His health was deteriorating since a long time and doctors expected he had only three months to live.
He will be buried on Monday, a foreign ministry spokesman told a news channel.
Al Megrahi`s cousin Omer al-Gharyani said he was with al Megrahi at the Tripoli hospital when he died.
Last month, he was admitted in hospital for blood transfusion before being sent back home to be with his family.
The fact that he had stayed alive much longer than the doctors had expected had aggravated resentment in UK and the US.
He was imprisoned in Netherlands in 2001 for carrying out the deadly attack on Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and was released in August 2009 on compassionate grounds. He received a ‘heroic’ welcome at the airport when he returned to Tripoli after serving eight years in prison.
His release was a huge setback for the relatives of the victims of Lockerbie tragedy.
Speaking to reporters at a NATO summit in Chicago, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "Today is a day to remember the 270 people who lost their lives in what was an appalling terrorist act.
"Our thoughts should be with them and their families for the suffering they`ve had. I`ve always been clear he should never have been released from prison."
“We have to give people the chance to mourn those that were lost. I`m very clear that the court case was properly done and properly dealt with”, he added.
The Boeing 747 jet was flying from London to New York and most passengers on board were Americans. It was one of the deadliest acts of terrorism against Americans.
Although, Megrahi always denied responsibility in the bombing and maintained his innocence.
In his last interview, Megrahi said: "I am an innocent man. I am about to die and I ask now to be left in peace with my family."
