Raids in seaside town as terror inquiry goes on
More arrests over Manchester attack
ANTI-TERROR POLICE raided more homes yesterday as the relentless search for the network behind the suicide bombing continued a week on from the deadly attack.
Early-morning raids were carried out at a house in Manchester, along with searches carried out in Chester and Shoreham-by-Sea, on the south coast of England.
A 23-year-old was held in the small seaside town on suspicion of terror offences in the early hours of the morning, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
Violet Mainda, who owns a hairdresser’s salon beneath the flat where he was arrested, said she believed the man who lives there was training or had trained to be a pilot, adding: “He was a normal bloke, very jovial.”
As the police operation continued more questions were being raised about possible security and intelligence blunders surrounding what was known about bomber Salman Abedi.
With the massive operation to dismantle his terror network showing little sign of slowing, 14 men were being held in custody in connection with the Manchester Arena attack.
The bank holiday raids followed a flurry of police activity in Manchester over the weekend, with the arrest of a 25-year-old man in Old Trafford and a 19-yearold man in Gorton.
Police have been working round-the-clock since Salman Abedi killed 22 people, seven of them children, and injured more than 100 in the worst terrorist atrocity since the July 7 bombings in 2005.
A total of 16 arrests have been made in connection with the attack, although two people have since been released. It has been reported that MI5 has launched two urgent inquiries into whether it missed the danger posed by Abedi, 22, amid allegations it was warned of his deadly intent.
The domestic security service is said to be investigating whether any glaring errors were made in the handling of intelligence before the attack last Monday night.
Spy chiefs are believed to have held an emergency review in the days after the atrocity, while a separate in-depth inquiry is being conducted to look at the decisionmaking surrounding his case before the massacre, The Guardian reported.
A senior Whitehall source previously has said Abedi was a “former subject of interest” to the security services whose risk “remained subject to review”.
On Sunday Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she would “not rush to conclusions” that agents, “somehow missed something”.
In the wake of the attack it emerged British counter-terror authorities were grappling with 500 investigations into 3,000 individuals.
Security sources later confirmed to the Press Association that a further 20,000 individuals were said to have been considered “subjects of interest” in the past, meaning as many as 23,000 people have appeared on the radar of counter-terror agencies, although the period the figures cover is unclear.
The suspect held in Shoreham was arrested after police entered a flat above a parade of shops in Brunswick Road in the town centre. Local councillor Kevin Boram said: “I’m a bit shocked that we’ve been associated with Manchester. It’s a great shame for our community.”
It is not the first time the area has been linked to terror.
The Deghayes family, of Saltdean, have lost three sons killed fighting in Syria, while a fourth son has also travelled to the country to fight the Assad regime.
Relation Omar Deghayes was held by the United States as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay detention camp between 2002 and 2007 after he was arrested in Pakistan.
In Manchester police raided the home of another Libyan family in the Whalley Range area of south Manchester yesterday morning, with searches of the property continuing.