Libyan who was cleared after Lockerbie bombing trial dies aged 70

A Libyan who was cleared after standing trial over the Lockerbie bombing has died aged 70.

Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah was accused of murdering 270 people in the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988.

He was found not guilty but a second Libyan, Abdulbasset Al Megrahi, was convicted of playing a key role in the bombing of the American airliner.

A Facebook post by Libyan Airlines announced Fhimah's death and expressed the company's condolences to his family.

Fhimah worked for the carrier in Malta before the bombing of Pan Am 103.

His funeral is set to take place on Wednesday in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.

The charges against Fhimah and Megrahi were first announced by Scotland and the United States in 1991.

Years of sanctions imposed on Libya by the United Nations led to the two men being handed over to stand trial at a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands.