Manchester bomber ‘was radicalised in the UK’
A TERROR suspect was “dragged” from a house by armed police and a gym where one of the terrorists worked out was searched as detectives investigating the London Bridge attack continued to focus on east London.
Counter-terrorism officers arrested two men in a street and another man in a separate raid on a house in Ilford, east London, late on Wednesday night, Scotland Yard said.
The first man, aged 27, was detained on suspicion of the preparation of terrorist acts, while the second, aged 33, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs.
The third man, aged 29, was also arrested on suspicion of the preparation of terrorist acts and all three have been taken for questioning while detectives search a residential address and a business premises.
Ilford, which is near Barking, has become the focus of the inquiry after it emerged that terrorists Khuram Butt and Youssef Zaghba had links to the area and there have been a series of raids in the wake of the attack. Meanwhile, it has been reported that one of the London attackers tried to travel to Northern Ireland.
Rachid Redouane was stopped and arrested in Scotland as he tried to board a ferry.
However, he managed to stay in Britain and married Charisse O’Leary in Dublin, which granted him an Irish ID card, making travel between the UK and Ireland easier.
The family of James McMullan, who was murdered in the London Bridge attack, have said his killers were “deranged and deluded individuals” as they paid tribute to him.
The 32-year-old (below) has been confirmed by police as one of the eight people who died in the rampage on Saturday while on a night out.
His family said in a statement: “While our pain will never diminish, it is important for all of us to carry on with our lives in direct opposition to those who would try to destroy us.”
Mr McMullan, from Hackney, was last seen outside the Barrowboy And Banker pub.
His sister Melissa McMullan described him as “an inspiration” in an online tribute.
Following the latest police operation, residents in Wingate Road, south Ilford, described how armed officers flooded the quiet residential street at around 10.20pm on Wednesday. They saw a man dragged from a house and arrested while armed officers led three women out to a neighbouring garden and told them to keep their heads down.
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “I looked out and saw just loads of armed police officers, balaclava’d up.
“There were about 10 of them and loads of unmarked cars arriving.” The neighbour said the road was cordoned off and went into “lockdown”.
Forensics officers were seen carrying boxes into the property in Wingate Road, which is a street away from the Ummah Fitness Centre, where the Times said the three London Bridge terrorists were filmed outside, five days before Saturday’s attack.
Butt, one of the men who carried out the atrocity, worked out at the gym in St Luke’s Avenue, which was raided overnight and eyewitnesses reported that computer equipment was taken away. MANCHESTER bomber Salman Abedi was radicalised while living in the UK two years before his deadly attack, Libyan authorities have said.
Abedi’s brother Hashim, who was arrested in Tripoli in the wake of last month’s attack, knew the 22-year-old was planning something, counter-terror official Ahmed bin Salem said.
Hashim, aged 20, said Abedi became radicalised while living in Manchester in 2015.
The British-born extremist of Libyan descent killed 22 people including children when he detonated the device as concert-goers began leaving a show by US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Arena.
Abedi’s father Ramadan was also arrested in Libya two days after the attack.
Both Hashim and Ramadan are still being held for questioning.
On Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police said a 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of terror offences in connection with the bombing after handing himself in to police.
To date, 21 people have been arrested in connection with the investigation, of whom 12 have been released without charge and nine remain in custody.
Two of the other arrests came on Tuesday, with a 20-year-old being held in Harpurhey, and a 38-year-old being detained at Heathrow Airport as part of a planned operation, both on suspicion of terrorism offences.
Also on Tuesday, police said they had found “significant evidence” in a car where Abedi may have stored items used to assemble his improvised explosive device.
It is reported Hashim also told Libyan officials Abedi bought materials with which to carry out the atrocity in Britain.
The inquests into the deaths of the victims, who include seven children, are due to begin today at 10.30am.
They will be opened at Manchester Civil Justice Centre by senior coroner for Manchester, Nigel Meadows.