Officers storm flat suspected of being bomb factory
Armed officers blow door off Airbnb rental thought to be one of two properties where bomb was made
SPECIAL forces stormed an Airbnb flat in central Manchester yesterday amid suspicions it was one of two bomb factories where Salman Abedi’s device had been manufactured.
A second property in the city was raided last night and Greater Manchester Police said they had arrested a seventh man in connection to the bombing at an address in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
At lunchtime yesterday, heavily armed counter-terrorism specialists wearing protective body armour raided a luxury block of flats on the edge of an area known as the “Gay Village”. After shutting down a railway line behind the building, officers entered Granby House on Granby Row in a coordinated operation, which sources said was ordered after intelligence was received.
Whitehall sources said last night it was believed the bomb had been assembled in more than one location.
The team used a controlled explosion to blow the door off the flat in Granby House in order to disable any potential booby trap. Residents of the block described hearing a huge bang before lots of shouting as the officers poured into the third-floor flat.
Neighbours said the property had been rented out on the Airbnb website, with different people coming and going. They also reported a large number of packages being delivered to the property in recent weeks. It is not thought anyone was in the flat at the time and no arrests were made.
Security experts said the use of an Airbnb flat, in a building with a transient population, would provide good cover for anyone wanting to set up a bomb factory.
David Videcette, a former Met detective who worked on the 7/7 investigation, said: “If this was being used as a bomb factory it would have been full of items needed to put a device together.
“It is a complex process and there are lots of ingredients needed in order to get it right. The bath would probably be being used to mix things and cool things down. There would also be camping stoves.”
He added: “They have blown the door off in case the terrorists had set a booby trap, which is a standard approach in these situations.” Residents spoke of their shock after hearing the explosion and fearing there was another terrorist attack under way.
Adam Prince, 38, who lives on the third floor, said he smelt gunpowder from the explosion. Lynne Deakin, 53, said she saw five or six “army” officers outside the flat. She said: “I was at one end of the corridor and they were at the other through a fire door. One of the guys came out and said ‘get downstairs’.”
Louise Bolotin, who lives in the building, said: “I came running down the front staircase and got to the front entrance and was met by a police officer in full-on tactical helmet, face mask, machine gun.” Yasir Qureshi, 38, who lives on the fifth floor, said: “I heard what sounded like a huge explosion, the building shook and the fire alarm went off.”
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said yesterday that the search was “part of the investigation into the horrific incident at Manchester Arena”. Chief Constable Ian Hopkins later confirmed that the investigation was focused on a “terror network”, but would not be drawn on whether police had identified the bomb factory or factories.
It is believed Abedi may have been in the Granby House flat immediately before Monday night’s terror attack.
A pub landlord in the area said police had been searching for CCTV footage from that evening. David Foran, 45, said police told him they were looking for coverage of the street outside the building from 7pm.
Earlier yesterday day, three people were arrested in a raid on a house in the Fallowfield area of the city. They were understood to be Libyans.
Several hours later, Greater Manchester Police arrested a man carrying a suspicious package on a street in Wigan. Plain clothes officers were understood to have followed the man from the town centre before pulling on balaclavas and moving in to tackle him to the ground.
Police said the package, which was in a red bag, was being assessed.
Last night, armed police carried out a further raid on a property six miles away in the Blackley area, again using a controlled explosion to gain entry.
Neighbours said they saw a woman being taken away in the back of a van.