Manchester bomber ‘did not act alone’
Cops believe others helped him or knew about plan to attack gig He wandered streets for hours with explosives hidden in backpack
POLICE suspect Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi did not act alone in his deadly attack.
And they want to quiz his brother Hashem, who is being held in Libya, to find out who helped him kill 22 people and injure more than 250 others as they left an Ariana Grande concert.
Det Chief Supt Russ Jackson, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said yesterday: “We don’t have evidence of a large network. We do, however, suspect others were aware or complicit in the knowledge of this attack.”
Anti-terror officers arrested 22 people in the wake of the outrage on May 22. All were released without charge.
But police have not ruled out more arrests. Areas they are investigating include who, if anyone, taught Abedi to build a bomb, who knew of his plan and how the plot was financed.
DCS Jackson confirmed: “We want to speak to Hashem Abedi and we are currently engaging with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Libyan authorities.”
More details emerged yesterday of Abedi’s movements before the attack. He had walked around the city with the bomb, hidden in a rucksack, for several hours. However, police said they believed the arena was always his target.
The extent of the devastation caused was also revealed yesterday. The explosion tore out a large section of the concrete floor and brought down parts of the arena’s roof. Some of those wounded have been paralysed and lost limbs. Others suffered serious internal and facial injuries.
DCS Jackson continued: “What’s clear from going to the scene is the enormity of it. It was incredibly difficult for officers at the scene. Forensic officers put roses down and name plates to pinpoint where the bodies were, to take families back there to see where their loved ones were. “It has been very difficult to manage. There were definitely tears in the first couple of weeks.” Police are liaising with officers in Libya, where both Hashem, and his father Ramadan, 51, have been held to investigate reports from Libya last month which suggested Hashem had admitted helping his older brother prepare for the attack. The family is originally from Libya but fled to the UK during Muammar Gaddafi’s dictatorship. Ramadan returned to fight the regime during the 2011 uprising. DCS Jackson said Manchesterborn Abedi, 22, had been to North Africa several times and police are probing whether he received terror training and how he was radicalised. As part of the investigation, officers are trawling through 16,000 hours of CCTV and analysing 755 statements.