lone wolf or terror cell?
ANTI-terror police and MI5 were last night working to track down any accomplices of suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
Amid fears more nail bomb attacks are being plotted, a “fast-moving” investigation was under way to establish if 22-year-old Abedi was a “lone wolf” or part of a terror cell.
One line of the police inquiry was to discover if the killer fought for Islamic State in Syria or Iraq.
It is understood he had been on the fringes of the intelligence radar but was not linked to any live investigation.
Abedi’s 23-year-old brother Ismail was arrested near his home in Chorlton, south Manchester, and was last night being questioned.
Police carried out a controlled explosion at a suspected “bomb factory” in Fallowfield, south Manchester – near Abedi’s home – and searched a third property in nearby Whalley Range. Forensic officers were seen leaving the property carrying a booklet called Know Your Chemicals.
Abedi, the son of a Libyan asylum seeker, had no love for the country which gave sanctuary to his parents when they fled their native land to escape Colonel Gaddafi’s rule.
His father, Ramadan, who worked as a security guard, and mother Samia first settled in London before moving to Fallowfield.
carnage
It is unclear how Abedi – a Manchester United fan – became radicalised and whether he made the improvised explosive device which caused carnage at the Manchester Arena on Monday night.
The suicide bomber was heard chanting Islamic prayers in Arabic just weeks before the attack, a neighbour revealed.
Lina Ahmed, 21, said: “A couple of months ago he was chanting the first kalma [Islamic prayer] really loudly in the street.”
There were unconfirmed reports last night that the Abedis – apart from the two older sons – recently moved back to Libya.
MI5 Director General Andrew Parker yesterday condemned the attack as “disgusting”, as spies joined police to track down any accomplices.
Mr Parker made the rare public statement as speculation mounted that the bomber was a returned jihadi veteran who had fought for Islamic State in Syria or Iraq.
Detectives are now piecing together a picture of the killer, his contacts, his life and movements in the days leading up to the atrocity.
The input from MI5 as well as other agencies, including foreign intelligence services, will be crucial.
Mr Parker said: “Everyone at MI5 is revolted by the disgusting terrorist attack in Manchester.
“We remain relentlessly focused, in numerous current operations, on doing all we can to combat the scourge of terrorism and keep the country safe.”
It is understood to be the first time a serving MI5 director general has spoken out in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist outrage. CCTV images of the bomber will be crucial to the early stages of the investigation, as police attempt to track his movements. Computers and mobiles phones will provide further information about his contacts and associates.
Neighbours in Fallowfield told of their horror after discovering the Manchester bomber had been living in their street. One claimed he had alerted police to suspicious activity at the semi-detached council house but nothing was done. Jimmy Fitzgerald said: “I rang the police and reported that house because I thought they were up to something.
“The police sent me a letter thanking me and said they would keep an eye on the house but I never heard any more.” Neighbour Simon Turner described the drama as police swooped. He said: “It was so quick. These cars just pulled up and all these police with guns, dogs, jumped out of the car and said to us, ‘Get in the house now!’ The next thing the door blew off the house. It was like something from a movie scene – it was unbelievable, really.”