‘islamic State’ claims Manchester arena suicide bombing
‘Islamic State’ has claimed the bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester which killed 22 people. Police say they have arrested a 23-year-old man, and are working to identify a suspect killed in the attack
DW—The “Islamic State” (IS) militant group said it was responsible for the Manchester Arena attack, which it said had been carried out with a device that was planted at the arena.
IS is known to make such claims even where it has not had direct involvement in planning and orchestrating specific terror attacks.
Police, who contrastingly said an improvised explosive device was carried by the attacker, said late on Tuesday morning that they had arrested a suspect linked to the bombing. The bomber is believed to have been carrying an identification document on him.
Hundreds fled the Manchester Arena after two large bangs on Monday evening.Video posted on Twitter showed fans streaming out of the venue where a concert attended by mainly teenagers and children had been taking place.
Greater Manchester police chief constable Ian Hopkins said police believed the incident was carried out by one man.The attacker died at the arena in an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device, Hopkins said.While he did not give an age range of the victims, he confirmed children were among the dead.
Hopkins said forensic investigators were still determining whether the attacker had accomplices.He said there was still no information about the individual who had detonated the device, adding it was “the most horrific incident” the city had ever faced.
By Tuesday morning, there had been an uneasy calm in the city center as the working day began, DW’s Lars Bevanger noted. Major roads as well as the city’s Victoria railway station were closed.
Towards noon, however, there was some panic as police evacuated the city’s Arndale Center shopping mall. An arrest was made but this was said not to be related to the bombing. The mall was subsequently reopened, but police asked people to avoid the city center.
Prime minister Theresa May chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, COBRA, on Tuesday morning. Subsequently, May announced that police believed they knew the identity of the suicide bomber.
Mayor of ManchesterAndy Burnham said the city would show resilience in the face of the attack.
“These were children and young people and their families that those responsible chose to terrorise and kill,” said Burnham.“This was an evil act.We are grieving today but we are strong.Today it will be business as usual—as far as possible—in our great city.”
British home secretary Amber Rudd called the incident “a barbaric attack, deliberately targeting some of the most vulnerable in our society—young people and children out at a pop concert.”
Eyewitness reports
Concert attendee Majid Khan, 22, told The Guardian newspaper a bomb-like bang went off as people were exiting the 18,000-capacity venue, leading to a mass panic.
“Everyone was in a huge state of panic, calling each other as some had gone to the toilet whilst this had gone off,so it was just extremely disturbing for everyone there,” he was quoted as saying.
Concertgoer Catherine Macfarlane told the Reuters news agency: “Everyone was screaming and people were running. It was a huge explosion—you could feel it in your chest. It was chaotic. Everybody was running and screaming and just trying to get out.”
One eyewitness said metal nuts appeared to have been packed into the explosive device. The BBC has reported that people were treated for “shrapnel-like injuries.” The Manchester Evening News said staff at Wythenshawe Hospital in South Manchester told people without life-threatening injuries to leave the emergency room.
There was condemnation of the attack from around the world with flags flying at half mast in Berlin and Brussels.
The US singer Ariana Grande has wide appeal among a young audience, after finding success on the children’s TV channel Nickelodeon. Early Tuesday morning, Grande spoke of her sorrow on Twitter.
Local residents offered their homes up to people affected by the incident using the hashtag #RoomForManchester.
Manchester police set up an emergency number for those involved in the blast.
Manchester was previously targeted by terrorists in June 1996, in a bomb attack that leveled a section of the city center. More than 200 people were injured in that attack, carried out by the IRA, although there were no fatalities.
There were reports on Tuesday morning that police had closed London’s Victoria Coach Station and surrounding streets, after a suspect package was found in the area.