28 May, 2017
The UK's terror threat level has been reduced as police unravel the bomb-making methods of the Manchester suicide attacker and close in on suspected co-conspirators. In addition there are hundreds of officers and staff from Greater Manchester Police and other forces involved in the security around Greater Manchester. Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent, died in Monday's explosion, which killed 22 others and wounded almost 120 as crowds were leaving an Ariana Grande concert.
Security images of the Manchester bomber on the night he committed mass murder have been released by police. The straps of a knapsack are visible on his shoulders.
Investigators also gave details of the 22-year-old's last hours as they appealed to the public for any information about his movements in the days running up to Monday night's attack. "The flat is highly relevant as a location which we believe may be the final assembly place for the device". "Our priorities are to understand the run up to this bad event and to understand if more people were involved in planning this attack".
Manchester police has said, according to local media, that one of the men was arrested following a property search in the Withington area of Manchester, while another was detained elsewhere in the city. But she urged Britons to remain vigilant and said soldiers would remain at high-profile sites throughout the weekend, and start reducing their presence beginning Tuesday.
Mr Rowley, the country's leading anti-terror officer, said: "We are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb". But Rowley said there were still "gaps in our understanding" of the plot, as investigators probed Abedi's potential links to jihadis in Britain, Europe, Libya and the Middle East. As a result of the arrests and searches which have taken place we now have many further lines of enquiry.
Greater Manchester Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West have been working closely with the national counter terrorism policing network on what they described as "a large scale and fast-moving investigation" since the attack on Monday.
Wearing jeans, trainers and a dark jacket, Salman Abedi cuts an unobtrusive figure in his final moments before slaughtering 22 concert-goers on Monday.
A woman arrested on Wednesday in Blackley has been released without any charge, the police said earlier.
The newspaper's report carried detailed information about the device and how it appears the young Manchester man might have carried out the attack, including preliminary findings by the British authorities that the small detonator switch was found in the bomber's left hand.
It came amid searches at a separate property in Cheetham Hill and an address in the Longsight area in south Manchester, while a road in Moss Side was evacuated by officers searching a home there.
