Tripoli, Aug 21 (DPA) The Libyan man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing in which 270 people were killed arrived in Tripoli Thursday night after being freed by a Scottish justice official so the terminally ill prisoner could die at home.

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was welcomed by a huge crowd of Libyans at Ma'atiqa International airport along with his family and some officials, the official JANA news agency reported. The crowd waved flags, including several Scottish ones.

The 57-year-old Libyan was released following a controversial decision by the Scottish authorities to free him on health grounds so that 'he could die in his native country', Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said.

He had served just eight years of a minimum life term of 27 years imposed by a special court in The Netherlands in 2001 for blowing up a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988 in what was Britain's worst terrorist attack.

The release has caused tensions with the US government, which repeatedly made it clear that it wanted him to serve his full prison term.

Al-Megrahi, who is terminally ill with prostate cancer, arrived in Libya with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader, Moamer Gaddafi. Al-Megrahi, who is related to Gaddafi, has a wife and five children, as well as ageing parents, in Libya.

Al-Magrehi's release came as Libya is preparing to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Gaddafi's rule, and welcoming the holy month of Ramadan, which starts Friday.

Al-Magrehi left Glasgow airport in Scotland on a Libyan government Airbus just hours after being freed from nearby Greenock prison. He was seen shielding his face with a white scarf and the collar of his white track suit as he walked up the gangway of the Airbus unaided, but supported by a cane.

'We thought it was a mistake,' US President Barack Obama said of the release, while the State Department warned Tripoli that a 'hero's welcome' would affect future relations.

Obama said his administration has been in contact with the Libyan government urging it to place al-Megrahi under house arrest.

A statement from the White House described the decision to free al-Megrahi as 'deeply regrettable'.

'As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland.

'On this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones. We recognise the effects of such a loss weigh upon a family for ever,' White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Of the 259 people killed on board the Pan Am plane, 189 were Americans, while 11 people on the ground also died.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other officials had lobbied for months to prevent his release, arguing he is a convicted terrorist who should be required to serve out the life imprisonment sentence handed down following his 2001 trial.

'We have continued to communicate our long-standing position to UK government officials and Scottish authorities that Megrahi should serve out the entirety of his sentence in Scotland,' Clinton said in a statement, adding the US was 'deeply disappointed' by the decision.