Ramadan Abedi, father of the suicide bomber, gestures as he speaks in Tripoli, Libya on Wednesday [Hani Amara/Reuters]
Police made arrests in the UK and Libya as the investigation into a suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a Manchester concert venue packed with children focused on tracking down a network of accomplices who authorities fear could strike again.
The father of the suspected bomber, identified as Salman Abedi, told the Reuters news agency in the Libyan capital on Wednesday that he had last spoken to his son some five days ago by phone and “everything was normal”.
Ramadan Abedi, who was detained by a Tripoli counter-terrorism force during the interview, said his son Salman had told his family that he was heading on pilgrimage to Mecca.
“I spoke to him about five days ago … there was nothing wrong, everything was normal,” Abedi said.
Abedi also said he was sure Salman had not been a member of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“Salman doesn’t belong to any organisation,” he said. “The family is a bit confused because Salman doesn’t have this ideology, he doesn’t hold these beliefs. We condemn these terrorist acts on civilians, innocent people.”
Police in Tripoli also arrested a brother of Abedi. A spokesman for the local counter-terrorism force said younger brother Hashem Abedi was arrested on suspicion of links with ISIL and was suspected of planning to carry out an attack in the Libyan capital.
Watch video here: https://youtu.be/Jw4uI2q_Lj4
Libya arrests father, brother of alleged Manchester bomber
A man arrested on Tuesday was reported by British and US media to be Abedi’s other brother.
Manchester police, meanwhile, made several new arrests.
“As it stands, six men and one woman have been arrested in conjunction with the investigation and remain in custody for questioning,” a police statement said.
Abedi, a 22-year-old British citizen, blew himself up on Monday night at the Manchester Arena indoor venue at the end of a concert by US pop singer Ariana Grande attended by thousands of children and teenagers.
Earlier, interior minister Amber Rudd said the bomber had recently returned from Libya. Her French counterpart Gerard Collomb said he had links with ISIL and had probably visited Syria as well.
Rudd also scolded US officials for leaking details about the investigation into the Manchester attack before British authorities were ready to go public.
The bomb used in the attack appeared to contain carefully packed shrapnel and have a powerful, high velocity charge, according to leaked photographs from the investigation published by the New York Times.
The Manchester bombing raised concern across Europe.
Cities including Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Petersburg, Berlin and London have suffered attacks in the last two years.
The 22 victims in Manchester included an eight-year-old girl, several teenage girls, a 28-year-old man and a Polish couple who had come to collect their daughters.
Britain’s official threat level was raised to “critical”, the highest level, late on Tuesday, meaning an attack was expected imminently.
The Manchester bombing was the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, when four British suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London’s transport network.
Rudd said up to 3,800 soldiers could be deployed on Britain’s streets, taking on guard duties to free up police to focus on patrols and investigation. An initial deployment of 984 had been ordered, first in London and then elsewhere.
Soldiers were seen at the Houses of Parliament, May’s Downing Street residence and at the London police headquarters at New Scotland Yard.
Source: Al-Jazeera News
English 