All those arrested over terror attack released
POLICE investigating the Manchester Arena attack have now released all those arrested without charge.
Three weeks on from the devastating explosion which killed 22 people and left more than 200 injured, Greater Manchester Police have also shared key information from the one of the biggest investigations ever conducted by the force. This includes:
New images showing a barrels stored in Salman Abedi’s car
Details of their ‘deep understanding’ of Abedi’s movements in and out of the country
The fact they have a near ‘hour by hour’ timeline of his movements in the days before the explosion
They understand how the chemicals and equipment were obtained
They know how the bomb was assembled and that it was likely to have been made by Abedi
A probe continues into whether associates could have helped him obtain or store bomb-making materials before Abedi travelled to Libya on April 15
Police are still searching a landfill site in Bury
They have found evidence of explosive materials at ‘several’ of the 29 houses they searched. All have links to Abedi
Hashem Abedi, Abedi’s brother who left the country at the same time as the attacker, is still detained in Libya and GMP are seeking to interview him
They have seized around 700 media devices, including phones, to be examined for evidence
Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, head of North West Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “This is one of the largest investigations Greater Manchester Police has ever conducted.
“The terrorist investigation has involved officers drawn from across the national Counter Terrorism Policing Network, from the National Crime Agency and police forces across the country. More than 1,000 officers have been involved.” Police have now pieced together Abedi’s last movements – and tried to establish if he had help.
The 22 people arrested in relation to suspected terrorism offences have been released without charge, two shortly after arrest. The final two were released yesterday afternoon.
Police have identified those who made contact with Abedi close to the attack time, and the presence of people of interest to their inquiry in Manchester city centre on the evening of the attack.
DCS Jackson added: “We continue to appeal for the help of the public in tracking Abedi’s movements and have released more images of him to try and jog people’s memories of sightings. We are also releasing images of barrels stored in the car. Did you see anyone carrying these – did you see anyone putting these in the white Micra? This is very much a live criminal investigation moving at considerable speed.
“It is a terrorism investigation relating to 22 murders and multiple attempted murders. It will continue at its current pace as we work to understand the full extent of the involvement of anyone else. We will be speaking with more people.”