Suspects
are spies
for Libya
By Jerry Seper and Paul Bedard
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The United States and Britain yes-
terday charged two Libyan
intelli-
gence agents with murder and con-
spiracy in the deaths of 270 persons
in
the
1988 bombing
of Pan Am
Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Abdel
Basset
Ali Megrahi
and
Lamen
Khalifa Fhimah, described
as “officers and operatives” of the
Libyan intelligence agency, are ac-
cused of planting the bomb on the
Boeing 747 jumbo jet and murdering
the 259 persons on board and
1 1 on
the ground.
The two men, both of whom are
believed to be in Libya, are consid-
ered fugitives.
“This investigation is by no means
over”
Attorney
General-designate
William R Barr, who was deputy at-
torney general when nominated for
the top Justice Department job, said
in
announcing
the
indictment
in
Washington,
“We will not rest until
all those
responsible are brought to justice,
and we have no higher priority.”
The indictment was returned by a
federal grand jury. A similar indict-
ment against the two Libyans was
announced simultaneously in Brit-
ain
by
Scotland's Lord
Advocate,
Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, who said
Libyan government officials would
be pressed to turn the men over for
trial.
Meanwhile,
the
White
House
strongly
indicated
that
Libyan
leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi was
involved
in the bombing and
sug-
gested that state-sponsored terror-
ism would be met with diplomatic
and then military retaliation.
In an unusually blunt statement.
White House press secretary Marlin
Fitzwater
said, “We
are
talking
about the full range of matters that
are available to countries >n terms of
their authorities — the diplomatic,
civilian, military, across the whole
gamut.”
Senior
administration
officials
said President Bush already has dis-
cussed
retaliation
plans
with
the
leaders of several NATO allies, in-
cluding British Prime Minister John
Major and French President Fran-
cois
Mitterrand.
The
discussions
The evidence: Attorney General-designate William Barr displays a photo of a fragment of the radio-cassette player where the Pan Am bomb was hidden.
%
The suspects: Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi (left)
and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah are charged in the
1988 bombing of Flight 103, which killed 270.
have taken place over the past sev-
eral days.
Military options include seizing
the alleged terrorists and senior Lib-
yan authorities,
a<
administration soi
to turn over the alleged conspirators.
Mr. Fitzwater and other officials
made the case for military action by
characterizing the tombing as state-
they said, the administration would
team
with other nations
to press
Libya through diplomatic channels
tice.
.
••
’
•
,
“We are considering action, and
I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
As
the
indictment was
an-
groiip. But administration officials
pressed; the
peaceful,
diplomatic
:iveri^'
fhV brim’ the susped s to ^'^v:
to play a major role in sponsoring
and promoting international terror-
.
Security
-has
been
Stepped
up
around
US.
installations
and
air
bases
out
of concern
that
Libya
might react to the indictment with
j ojj terrorist action.
rfis first major crimi-
nal
indictment
since
being nom-
see
I ,!I?V\NS, page A8
Soviet
unity
gains
supports
...
;
By Gerald Nadler
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
'
'
'
MOSCOW— Soviet President Mi-
' !
khail
Gorbachev
reached agreed
*
ment with the leaders of seven^re-
publics
yesterday
to preserve^ ^
?
union government in a hew.confeii
erated state.
’•
The accord reached after all-day
;
talks at Mr. Gorbachev’s dacha ou&v^.t
side Moscow marked the most sig-
t
;|i;:
nificant progress since
tRp'faiXcd'
;
August coup at maintaining^ ceh-
'
tral government, which is preferred ^
f
by international financial
tions and foreign states
iri dealing V?
with Moscow.
But five republics— the Ukraine,
Moldavia, Georgia, Armenia and U£-
'
bekistan — did not attend the State
Council meeting
at Novo-Ogarevd.
J
with Mr. Gorbachev; the agreement
is also only the first step in a long.-
process.
The political union pact must' be
• l
finalized, then approved by the par-
liaments of the republics and sent
back to the State Council.
Foreign
governments
are
con-
cerned that the lack of a central gov-
ernment structure could
lead
to a
dangerous dispersal of Soviet nu-
clear weapons among the republics
and that there would be no central
authority to pay the foreign debt of
$70 billion.
Mr. Gorbachev, who has
threat-
ened twice in the last three months
to resign
if a union
treaty'
is not
signed, held his hands together in
front of him in a pose of relief and
thankfulness at the televised news
,
conference where the progress ^
ward a pact with the republics was’ ;
announced.
f
“The (new! Union Of Sovereign
States will be a confede^atedtd«»o^^ \
cratic government” Mr. Gorbachev >
said. He added that a military
agreement was one of the next
.-
toward reforging the Soviet state,
Boris
Yeltsin
and
Niirsujjan
;
Nazarbayev, presidents of the iwff
largest
republics, Russia and Ka-
zakhstan, then stepped forward to
*
announce their approval of the ac^,
cord as a smile engulfed Mr. Gorb^./i
chev's face.
a
“It is hard to say \vhat will be tfie
\\
see SOVIETS, page
^ d
WHO DID IT?
Initially, the Pan Am bombing investigation centered on the Syria-backed
terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command. Yesterday's indictment against two Libyan intelligence officers
said they acted with “other co-conspirators,’’ but officials said there was no
evidence to link the bombing to Iran, Syria or the PFLP-GC
Various officials and press reports pointed to this list of characters as
possible suspects during the probe.
Ahmed Jibril: Leader of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine — General Command. A
terrorist cell of the PFLP-GC in West Germany was
believed to have carried out bombing. Bomb parts
found in debris around Lockerbie were reportedly
traced to his group.
Mohammed Abu Talb: Identified by a Swedish
court as a suspect in bombing and a member of the
Palestine Popular Struggle Front. Suspected of
purchasing some of the clothing found in the suitcase
on Pam Am Flight 103 in which the bomb was hiden.
K**alW Jaafar: Lebanese American student from
Detroit who was killed in the bombing, was suspected
of unknowingly carried the bomb aboard the plane in a
suitcase. Officials yesterday denied his involvement.
*
gBgiflr
JWW
:
Jibril
r
m
Hafez Dalkomoni: PFLP-GC member and key
aide to Jibril, was .arrested in West Germany with 13
other suspected terrorists two months before the Pan
Am incident. U.S. intelligence officials identified him
as being involved in bombing attempts.
Abdullah Senoussl: Brother- in-law of Libyan
leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi and de facto chief of
the Libyan intelligence service, the Jamahirya
Security Organization, which has been tied to the Pan
Am bombing.
Rafsanjani
Moussa Koussa: Vice minister of Libyan foreign affairs, identified by
U.b. intelligence officials as a suspect in prior bombing attempts.
Mohammed Naydi: Senior Libyan intelligence official, suspected
because equipment he used in other bombings matched equipment used in
the Pan Am bombing. He was arrested and later released.
Mansour Omran Saber: Libyan intelligence agent and longtime
colleague of Mohammed Naydi. Arrested with Mr. Naydi. and also released
9 ^f^Koar Hashemi Rafsanjani: President of Iran who was
identified in early CIA reports as knowing about the Pam Am bombing. He
was commander in chief of the military in the summer of 1988 when the
operation was reportedly commissioned through the Iranian Revolutionary
Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi
Lamen Khalifa Fhimah
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00789R001 001 430002-1
iPAGE A8 /FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1991 *
Sfyelltoofji
LIBYANS
From page A1
,, inated last month, described the in-
-vestigation
as “one
of
the most
'- exhaustive and complex” in history.
;
“We charge that two Libyan of-
ficials, acting as operatives of the
Libyan
intelligence
service
along
with other co-conspirators, planted
and detonated
the bomb
that
de-
stroyed PanAm Flight 103,” he said.
“I have just telephoned some of
the families of those murdered in
Pan Am Flight 103 to inform them
and the organizations of survivors
that
this indictment has been
re-
turned,” he said. “Their loss has been
ever-present in our minds.”
The
193-count
indictment,
re-
turned by a federal grand jury in
Washington, alleges that the two Lib-
lyan
intelligence
officials
con-
structed a bomb of plastic explosive
and a
sophisticated timing device
and
put
it
into
a
portable
radio-
cassette player in a suitcase.
On Dec. 20, 1988, according to the
.indictment, they flew from Libya to
•Malta,
where one
of them
had
p.worked for Libyan Arab Airlines and
had access
to baggage tags of an-
other airline, Air Malta.
<
“By using stolen Air Malta bag-
gage tags, the defendants and their
co-cohs'pirators were able
to route
the bomb-rigged suitcase as unac-
companied luggage,” Mr. Barr said.
“The suitcase was put aboard an Air
Malta flight that went to Frankfurt,
Germany.”
At Frankfurt, the indictment said,
the
suitcase was transferred
to a
connecting Pan Am flight — 103-A
.— bound for Heathrow Airport
in
J London. At Heathrow, it was placed
.aboard Pan Am 103 and exploded
about 38 minutes after the aircraft
had left for New York City on Dec.
21, 1988.
The two Libyans are charged with
conspiracy to murder those on board
the plane and placing a bomb on the
jet. The United States has no extradi-
, tion treaty— or diplomatic relations
- — with Libya to bring them to this
-country
for
trial.
Justice Depart-
. ment authorities said they hoped to
~ get the men back to the United States
’ but did not elaborate.
-
Mr. Barr said
U.S. and Scottish
* authorities,
after an
“exhaustive”
j analysis
of
tons
of
debris,
deter-
. mined that the bomb had been in the
’ suitcase in a large, aluminum bag-
! gage container in the aircraft’s for-
* ward cargo hold. He said the bomb
: consisted of 10 to 14 ounces of plas-
. tic explosive.
*
“The methodical crime scene in-
» vestigation yielded a tiny, small frag-
* ment — smaller than a fingernail —
* that had been driven by the blast into
- the large cargo container” he said.
* “Forensic experts determined that
' this was part of the circuit board of
„ the Tbshiba radio.”
He said a fragment of green cir-
A cuit board, also smaller than a fin-
^ gernail, was found in a piece of shirt
that had been in the suitcase contain-
ing the bomb.
“Scientists determined that it was
part of the bomb’s timing device and
traced it to its manufacturer, a Swiss
company that had sold
it to a high-
level
Libyan
intelligence
official,”
‘ Mr. Barr said.
Mr. Megrahi, 39, was described by
;
U.S. authorities as a senior officer of
,
the
Libyan
intelligence
agency,
known as
the Jamahirya Security
r Organization. They said he has held
various positions with Libyan Arab
Airlines and served as director of
the Center for Strategic Studies in
Tripoli at the time of the bombing.
Mr.
Fhimah,
35,
also was
de-
scribed as a covert agent of the Lib-
yan intelligence agency and worked
as station officer with Libyan Arab
. Airlines in Malta.
The
indictment
represents
the
first charges to be filed in the nearly
3-year-old case. Of those who died in
the
terrorist
explosion,
189
were
Americans. The victims were from
21 countries and included eight fam-
ilies of four. Sixteen infants sitting
on the laps of their parents also were
killed.
Thirty-five of the victims were
Syracuse
University
students
re-
turning to the United States after a
pre-Christmas trip to Europe.
>
The
investigation
initially
cen-
tered on allegations that the Syria-
backed Popular Front for the Liber-
ation
of
Palestine-General Com-
mand (PFLP-GC), led by suspected
terrorist Ahmed Jibril, had been re-
sponsible for the Pan Am bombing.
CIA
intelligence
officials
orig-
inally
said
the
organization
con-
spired with Iranian officials to at-
tack a U.S. airliner in retaliation for
the 1988 accidental downing of an
Iranian jetliner by a U.S. warship,
the USS Vincennes, in the Persian
Gulf.
But Assistant Attorney General
Robert Mueller
III, who heads the
Justice Department’s criminal divi-
sion, said yesterday there was no evi-
dence to link the Pan Am bombing to
Iran, Syria or the PFLP-GC.
Yesterday’s State Department re-
port on Libya’s terrorism role said:
• Libya provides
training
facili-
ties and
several
million
dollars a
year to tlfltpjdnoNefcli F»g:RialeiaS,e
which has been connected
to 28C
TRACKING TERRORIST BOMBERS
Chronology ot events surrounding bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on
U6C. 21, 1go6<
Nov. 14, 1991 — Two Libyan intelligence officials indicted for plantinq
bomb that destroyed Flight 103.
a
Dec. 4, 1990
Justice Department says a month-long inquiry produced
no evidence that terrorists who blew up Pan Am Flight 103 two years earlier
were unwittingly aided by an undercover U.S. drug investigation
Nov. 16, 1990
President Bush signs a bill tightening airport security
1990 — A British government report into the disaster urges
aircraft firms to make aircraft safer. Families of the victims say they are
dissastisfied with the report because
it failed to consider airport security
June 11, 1990 — Justice Department reports “significant progress" in the
investigation but says evidence to bring charges was still
"not in hand
”
May 16, 199Q — A presidential commission investigating the bombing
recommends the United States should take military action aqainst
Terrorists and nations that harbor them.
1990 ~ Pan Am reaches an out-of-court settlement with 250
bcottish families whose relatives were killed or injured in the disaster
Dec, 15, 1989 — Scotland's chief law officer announces the first public
jnquiry into the bombing, but says criminal prosecution is not imminent
N°v
;
1989 — A presidential commission opens hearinqs in
Washington.
N°v. 4, 1989— CIA Director William Webster says the United States
; hopes to seize the bombers and bring them to trial in the United States
film
Dct. 30, 1989 — West German officials say investigators found a trail
leading to Malta as the likely source of the bomb and say a Libyan man mav
I.; have played a role.
r
t^e bomWng^^
says
il believes
it identified group responsible for
Aug. 4, 1989 — President Bush announces formation of a
seven-member commission to investigate air terrorism, with particular
emphasis on the Pan Am bombing.
Jj
meSJb on board
' lnVestlgators say a U S
ci,lzen was lncked inl° lak,n9
April 3, 1989 — The United States announces new measures to combat
sky terrorism.
March 22, 1989 — A State Department official testifies before Congress"
that the United States believes the bombing required aid from a foreiqn
PnvoNed
6nt becaus6 of ,he comP lex preparations that had to have been
Jan. 10, 1989— British investigators say the bomb was planted in the
j
aircrafts forward baggage hold.
jf;
Dec. 31, 1988— Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says he believes
sabotage caused the crash, but denies Libya, Iran or Syria were
;
. responsible. The father of one victim, files the first lawsuit against Pan Am
:
Dec. 28, 1988— Britain's Air Accidents Investigations Branch says the
let was blown up by a powerful bomb made of plastic explosives Lawyers
representing families of the victims say they will sue the U.S. government
and Pan Am.
Dec. 23, 1988— A British official says the government issued no public
warnings, about the threat because the information was considered
M
. confidential.
,
Dec. 22, 1988 — British investigators say sabotage was the most likely
cause of the crash. U.S. officials say a threat to blow up a Pan Am fliqht to
New York originating in Frankfurt, Germany, as Flight 1 03 had, was made to
U.b. embassies in Europe and major airlines earlier in the month
:SS&q2
*2S 198® ~ pll9ht 103 is destroyed over Lockerbie. Scotland, killing
all 259 people aboard and 1 1 on the ground.
Source: Associated Ptess. Reuters
i
: ::
’
-
:
.
The Washington Times
deaths
in more than 100
terrorist
attacks.
• Col. Gadhafi last year gave more
than $1 million to the PFLP-GC, a
terrorst group responsible for the
isms&sgmL
• Elements of the Palestine Liber
ation Front, which has a long history
of terrorist attacks, remain based in
Libya, receiving broad government
support.
• Libya’s
terrorist
support
and
traced
to
the
SrhmunisTParty of the Philippines,
Costa Rica, Peru and Chile.