The Libyan man cleared of the Lockerbie airliner bombing has arrived in Tripoli on board a Dutch military aircraft, ending nearly two years in detention and a gruelling nine-month trial.

Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, 44, was freed after three Scottish judges found him not guilty of blowing up Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988 with the loss of 270 lives.

Mr Fhimah's flight left from Soesterberg Air Base a few miles from Camp Zeist, the former air base converted into a high security court facility for the two Libyans' trial.

The Libyan, who clasped his hands in victory when he heard the verdict, had left Camp Zeist about six hours after the verdict on Wednesday in a three-car convoy to an undisclosed destination where he spent the night. He had been told he had 24 hours to leave Dutch soil.

Mr Fhimah spent nearly two years on remand at Camp Zeist, a former US airbase declared Scottish territory for the purposes of the trial. He surrendered in April 1999, nearly eight years after his indictment.

The judges said in their unanimous verdict that there was insufficient evidence to convict Mr Fhimah of the crimes with which he was charged.

Most Libyans had expected both men to be acquitted with many Tripoli residents left puzzled by the split decision.