Brother to be tried in Libya over part in Manchester bombing

Relative said to have played a key role in attack, collecting material

The brother of Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi will be tried in Libya over his alleged role in the attack, the country’s chief prosecutor has said.

Hashem Abedi, 20, is said to have played a “key role” in the terror outrage carried out by his older brother which left 22 dead in May.

He was arrested in Tripoli by members of the Rada Special Deterrence Force a day after the attack, along with the brother’s father, Ramadan Abedi.

The father has since been released but Hashem is still in custody and will go on trial in the next two months, according to the BBC.

British police said in May that Salman Abedi, 22, did not act alone and they wanted to speak to his younger brother.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have declined to comment on the BBC report.

Al Sadiq Al-Sour, chief prosecutor for the authorities in Libya told the BBC: “All the signs point to Hashem being directly involved, assisting his brother and collecting the materials for the suicide bombing which took a lot of innocent lives in Manchester.”

He said investigations will be completed in two months “at most” ready for a trial.

Hashem had left Britain for Libya on April 16 this year, a month before the attack in Manchester, according to Libyan sources.

Another male relative of the Abedis has also been held after his credit card was allegedly used to buy ingredients for the bomb, according to the Libyan authorities.

Mr Al-Sour also said British police have been given a list of names of others who should be questioned.

He added: “These people should be questioned to get more information about the suspects, their movements, their ideologies.

“If there were any signs they were going to carry out the attack.”

Salman Abedi killed 22 people when he detonated his bomb in the foyer of Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariane Grande concert on May 22.

Police made scores of arrests but all the suspects were eventually released after questioning.

However, Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said they believed while Salman Abedi was not part of a large network he did not act alone during the months in the lead-up to the attack.

These people should be questioned to get more information about the suspects, their movements, their ideologies. CHIEF PROSECUTOR AL SADIQ AL-SOUR