Clinton urges Libya rebels to jail Lockerbie bomber

Two years ago, Washington criticised Scotland for releasing Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, an alleged Libyan agent convicted of bombing Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, southern Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people.Believing that he was dying of cancer, Scottish judges freed him and he was welcomed back to Libya as a hero by Moamer Gaddafis regime. Gaddafi is now on the run, and many in the United States and Britain want Megrahi re-arrested.US officials said Abdel Jalil was expecting the issue to come up when he met Clinton on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference on Libyas future.Our bottom line is that we believe that Megrahi should properly be behind bars, that he should not have been released, another senior State Department official told reporters, also speaking on condition of anonymity.We recognise that the NTC has a whole host of challenges that it needs to confront, but it was important for the secretary to convey our view on this, the official added.The officials said the new Libyan leadership will have to grapple with US demands, and confirmed that Clinton did urge the Libyans that he be put back in jail, as some in the US Congress are demanding.