The authorities in Libya have called for the arrest of nine American officials they say were behind the bombing in 1986 of two Libyan cities.

A statement by a senior prosecutor in Tripoli said if Washington did not hand over the nine, Libya would ask the United Nations to request their extradition.

Tripoli compared this to attempts by Britain and America to obtain the extradition of two Libyans accused of the blowing up of the Pan Am airliner over Scotland ten years ago.

Libya accuses the nine Americans of the premeditated murder of forty people killed in the raids on the Libyan cities.

They followed a bomb attack in Berlin which was blamed on Libya.