TRIPOLI, Libya — The Libyan intelligence officer convicted in the 1988 bombing of an American airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, died at home here Sunday, nearly three years after passions around the case were reawakened when he was freed on compassionate grounds because of what was reported as advanced prostate cancer.

Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi, 60, became a symbol of state-sponsored terrorism under the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Megrahi repeatedly denied a role in the downing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people, including 189 Americans, and led to Libya’s further isolation as a rogue state.

Diminished and purportedly close to death, Megrahi was freed from custody by Scotland in 2009 on humanitarian grounds. The gesture was scorned by the families of victims and condemned by Western leaders, including President Barack Obama.

The release was seen as part of a deal for Gadhafi to steer oil and gas contracts to Britain. British and Scottish officials have denied the accusation.