Britain warns of imminent attack, raises threat level to critical
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — As officials hunted for accomplices of a suicide bomber and Britain’s prime minister warned another attack could be “imminent,” thousands of people poured into the streets of Manchester in a defiant vigil Tuesday for victims of a blast at a pop concert — the latest apparent target of Islamic extremists seeking to rattle life in the West.
The attack left at least 22 dead, including an 8-year-old girl, shattering the revelry at a show by American singer Ariana Grande, where strains of electric pop and the sways of innocent young fans quickly gave way to an explosion, a flood of screams and a stampede of panicked concert-goers, many clutching pink balloons and wearing the kitten-ear headbands popularized by Grande.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A team from the international chemical weapons watchdog found exposure “to sarin or a sarin-like substance” in samples from an April 4 attack in northern Syria that killed over 90 people and now wants to visit the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, a senior UN official said Tuesday.
UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu told the UN Security Council that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also submitted a report into the alleged use of chemical weapons near Um Hosh in the Aleppo countryside on Sept. 16, 2016 which indicated the use of “sulfur mustard.”
OPCW fact-finding teams have been investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria but aren’t mandated to determine responsibility for attacks. That has been left to a joint UN.-OPCW investigative body known as the JIM.
Touching on that disconnect, British Prime Minister Theresa May said: “We struggle to comprehend the warped and twisted mind that sees a room packed with young children not as a scene to cherish but as an opportunity for carnage.”
May said Britain’s terror threat level had been raised to critical — meaning another attack may be imminent. The status means armed soldiers could be deployed instead of police at public events including sports matches. The threat level had been at the secondhighest rung of “severe” for several years.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the blood bath Monday, though a top American intelligence official said the assertion could not be verified. Manchester Police Chief Ian Hopkins identified the bomber as 22year-old
Last year, the JIM concluded that the Syrian government used chlorine gas in three attacks and Islamic State extremists used mustard gas in one attack during 2014 and 2015.
Nakamitsu said the two latest reports from the OPCW fact-finding team have been sent to the JIM, which is now studying the findings “and will keep the Security Council informed of its next steps.”
Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States in 2013 and declared a 1,300-ton chemical arsenal when it joined the OPCW soon after.
That stockpile has been destroyed, but the organization continues to question whether Damascus declared everything in its chemical weapon program.
Nakamitsu said work to address Salman Abedi, who authorities said died in the attack. Police raided two sites in the northern English city, setting off a controlled explosion in one, and arresting a 23-year-old man in a third location.
May said Abedi was born and raised in Britain and a European security official said he was of Libyan descent. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on ongoing investigations.
At least 20 heavily armed, helmeted police surrounded a modest red brick house listed as Abedi’s address in a mixed Manchester suburb at midday on Tuesday and blasted down the door.
Details on Abedi were slow to trickle out. He was unresolved issues related to Syria’s declaration had been expected to move forward during high-level consultations scheduled for early May, but they have been temporarily postponed.
The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons and so has its close ally Russia, which has also carried out aerial attacks. described by neighbors as a tall, thin young man who often wore traditional Islamic dress, but few said they knew him well.
Alan Kinsey, 52, who lives across the street, said his neighbor would often get picked up by another young man in a Toyota and often returned late at night. “I thought he worked in a takeaway or something” because of his late hours, Kinsey said.
Police also searched an apartment in a nearby area that British media reported belonged to Abedi’s brother, Ismail.
May called raising the country’s terror threat level and deploying soldiers to patrol key sites a “proportionate and sensible response” to the suicide bombing. There are two major sports events in London on Saturday, with Wembley Stadium hosting soccer’s FA Cup final, which Prince William is due to attend, and Twickenham hosting rugby’s Premiership final.