Bomber’s father is arrested
Yorkshire victims are among the 22 dead Terror ‘network’ is target of police raids
THE MANCHESTER suicide bomber’s “network” is now the focus of the huge counter-terrorism investigation into the atrocity as members of his family were detained in Libya.
Salman Abedi’s father, Ramadan Abedi, has been arrested in Tripoli, along with his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces claimed was “aware of all the details” of the attack.
Ramadan Abedi had earlier said his son was innocent, saying: “We don’t believe in killing innocents. This is not us.”
A total of 22 people were killed and dozens seriously injured when Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a device as fans left Manchester Arena on Monday night.
A number of the victims were from Yorkshire.
The news came as the investigation was hit by leaks made to the US media, with the New York
Times releasing crime scene pictures appearing to show bomb fragments and the backpack used to conceal the explosive.
In other developments, detectives made a further five arrests, taking the number of people in custody to six. The latest arrest was of a woman held after residents heard a “huge bang” as officers carrying firearms raided an address in Blackley, Manchester, yesterday evening.
It was the latest of a series of police operations yesterday.
First, three men were arrested after police executed warrants in south Manchester overnight, while officers entered an address in the city centre using a controlled explosion on yesterday afternoon;
Another arrest was made later yesterday in Wigan of a man carrying a suspect package before a woman was arrested in Blackley last night.
Meanwhile, France’s interior minister has disclosed that the bomber is believed to have travelled to Syria and claimed he had “proven” links with the Islamic State group (IS).
The news comes as almost 1,000 British military personnel were being deployed around the UK, including to key sites such as Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, after the official terror threat assessment was raised to critical – the highest level – indicating that a further attack may be imminent.
Claims also emerged in America, reported by NBC News, that members of the bomber’s family had warned security officials that Abedi was “dangerous” in the past.
The arena attack was the deadliest terrorist incident to hit the UK since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005 and sparked a nationwide security operation amid fears further strikes could be imminent.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the level of activity in the investigation is “intense” and continuing “at pace”. Asked if officers are looking for the person who made the bomb, he said: “I think it’s very clear that this is a network that we are investigating and as I’ve said, it continues at pace, this extensive investigation is going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester as we speak.”
The force was “confident” it had identified every victim but said they would not be formally identified until after post-mortem examinations were completed in four to five days. Cheshire Police said a female officer died while off-duty at the concert.
There were reports that members of the public blew the whistle on Abedi several years ago by reporting him to the anti-terrorism hotline. An unnamed Muslim community worker said two people who knew the attacker at college had tipped off officers after he made statements “supporting terrorism” and expressing the view that “being a suicide bomber was okay”.
The calls are thought to have been made five years ago, after Abedi left school.
In response to the raised threat level, the Government has activated Operation Temperer, providing 3,800 troops to support the police. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said 984 military personnel were deployed around the country, which police said freed up 1,000 armed officers to carry out patrols.