Lockerbie bomber dies in Libya

It is perhaps the most infamous airline bombing of all time.

In 1988, this Pan Am plane was brought down over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people.

Now, the man convicted of the attack - Abdel Basset al-Megrahi - has died.

The former Libyan intelligence officer - seen here in 2011 - succumbed to prostate cancer, said his brother.

He was 60 and had been gravely ill for months.

Megrahi, seen here shortly after the Lockerbie bombing, denied any role in the attack, which turned Libya and its leader Muammar Ghaddafi into international pariahs.

Convicted at at trial held in the Netherlands he was jailed in Scotland but granted early release on compassionate grounds in 2008, by the Scottish government.

The move sparked an outcry among relatives of the dead, particularly in the U.S.

When his plane touched down in Tripoli, he was given a hero's welcome by Gaddafi and his son Saif al Islam.

After Gaddafi's ouster, Libya's new rulers said Megrahi -- who been released because Scottish doctors said he had just months to live -- would stay put in the country.

His health promoted much speculation and debate over his early release from prison.

Andrew Raven, Reuters.