Libya to prosecute Manchester blast terrorist’s brother

THE brother of Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi will be tried in Libya over his alleged role in the attack, the country’s chief prosecutor has said.

Hashem Abedi (20) is said to have played a “key role” in the terror outrage carried out by his older brother, which left 22 dead in May.

He was arrested in Tripoli by members of the Rada Special Deterrence Force a day after the attack, along with the brother’s father, Ramadan Abedi.

The father has since been released, but Hashem is still in custody and will go on trial in the next two months, according to the BBC.

British police said in May that Salman Abedi, 22, did not act alone and they wanted to speak to his younger brother.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have declined to comment.

Al Sadiq Al-Sour, chief prosecutor for the authorities in war torn Libya, said: “All the signs point to Hashem being directly involved, assisting his brother and collecting the materials for the suicide bombing which took a lot of innocent lives in Manchester.”

He said investigations will be completed in two months “at most”, ready for a trial.

Hashem had left Britain for Libya on April 16 this year, a month before the attack in Manchester, according to Libyan sources.

Another male relative of the family has also been held after his credit card was allegedly used to buy ingredients for the bomb, according to the Libyan authorities.

Salman Abedi killed 22 people including young children and teenagers when he detonated his bomb in the foyer of Manchester Arena at the end of American singer Ariane Grande’s concert on May 22.

Police made scores of arrests, but all of the suspects were eventually released after questioning.

Detectives believe that Abedi did not act alone in planning the attack.