25 May, 2017
The Manchester suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert venue packed with children had recently returned from Libya, a British minister said, and her French counterpart said he had links with Islamic State and had probably visited Syria as well.
At an Ariana concert at the MEN Arena in Manchester on Monday night, 22 people were killed and 59 injured when a nail bomb was detonated in the foyer by 22-year-old Salman Abedi.
Saffie's death was confirmed by Chris Upton, the headteacher at Tarleton Community Primary School, who said: "News of Saffie's death in this appalling attack has come as a tremendous shock to all of us and I would like to send our deepest condolences to all of her family and friends.
In any case, (he had) links with Daesh (Islamic State) that are proven".
He said Salman visited Libya a month and a half ago and only returned to Manchester after winning a cheap ticket to Umrah. "He was in contact with his brother and he knew about the attack".
The alleged bomber's father, Ramadan Abedi, told The Associated Press on Wednesday, that another son, Ismail, was arrested in England on Tuesday.
USA intelligence officials previously told NBC News that Salman Abedi - the 22-year-old British national who is believed to have blown himself up - had ties to al Qaeda and had received terrorist training overseas.
Meanwhile, British authorities busted a suspect in Wigan, a town in Greater Manchester, who was carrying a suspicious package.
Ismail was arrested by armed police in Chorlton, south Manchester.
London's Metropolitan Police service announced that military personnel would guard "key locations" as part of what's been called "Operation Temperer", and soldiers were seen at Buckingham Palace and extra police at train stations on Wednesday morning.
That specific information has been shared between U.S. and British intelligence services, the USA officials said, adding they now have "high confidence" the information is accurate. At another property, a house a 10-minute walk from where Abedi lived, neighbors said they were awakened by a loud noise and saw a man hauled away in handcuffs.
The senior Abedi worked as a security officer under dictator Moammar Gadhafi's rule. I have never been so disgusted to be part of the human race, ' the woman said.
Rudd said up to 3,800 soldiers would be deployed on Britain's streets, freeing up police officers to carry out patrols and investigations. He denied having ties to any of Libya's militant groups, including the Libya Islamic Fighting Group, which was linked to al-Qaida.
He said he knew the man from the neighbourhood and the mosque but "in the last 15 years, I haven't seen him in trouble at all".
British Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting Wednesday of her emergency security cabinet group to talk about intelligence reports on Abedi and concerns that he might have had outside support.
She also complained about USA officials leaking sensitive information about Abedi to the press. Officials say 20 of them are being treated for critical injuries.
Officials said all the dead and wounded had been identified. "There's an extensive investigation going on, and activity taking place across Greater Manchester as we speak".
