Armed police swoop to try to corner Arena terror cell

BOMB squad officers were sent out to multiple locations in Greater Manchester yesterday - after three more people were arrested in connection with the Manchester Arena bomb attack.

Armed police, Army bomb disposal experts and a helicopter congregated just outside a school known as the Castlefield campus, a special-needs school run by Manchester council, following reports of a suspicious package.

Residents on Jacksons Crescent, in Hulme, reported hearing officers shout to them to remain in their properties and to stay away from doors and windows. One resident reported hearing a number of bangs.

Images from the scene show police holding a man at gunpoint, before he was pinned to the ground. Police later said that the item they were concerned about was found to be harmless.

However, GMP said they arrested a man on suspicion of possession of cannabis and he remains in police custody.

A large cordon that was put in place around Limby Street, Jackson Crescent and part of Chester Road - which encircled the school and a 16-storey block of flats - was later lifted.

One resident told the M.E.N. she was walking in the area when armed officers ordered her to go inside.

The drama occurred hours after police carried out raids in Withington and in another location in Manchester, believed to be in Lindum Street in Moss Side - arresting two people.

Residents on Lindum Street reported masked police raiding a terrace property on the street in the early hours of the morning, from around 2am.

And in Withington, footage has emerged of a number of armed police entering a house on Egerton Close, Withinton, where they also made an arrest at 4am.

Officers remained at the street for the rest of the day carrying out enquiries.

However, things took a further twist at around 3pm yesterday when an army bomb disposal unit turned up at the scene.

Later in the day, police also returned to a block of flats in Blackley. Officers on Wednesday had raided a property on Broadmoss Road in Blackley, where they arrested a woman who was released without charge. Less than 24 hours later, police returned to the area and cordoned off the tower block. Forensic officers could be seen going into a flat within Somerton Court and remained there for a number of hours. Police also confirmed they also attended an undisclosed property in Wigan as part of the investigation following the arrest of a man in the town, on Dicconson Street, on Wednesday. On Wednesday night, officers also carried out a raid in Nuneaton which is also understood to be part of the inquiry. A man was arrested at the location. So far, a total of eight people have been arrested in the UK. And in Libya, local police have arrested the father and younger brother of bomb suspect Salman Abedi.