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3 Men Arrested in Investigation of Manchester Bombing Salman Abedi, Manchester Bomber, Likely Had Help, Officials Say
(about 1 hour later)
MANCHESTER, England — The police arrested three men in Manchester on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a deadly bombing at the city’s main arena, as the authorities tried to determine whether the assailant had accomplices. MANCHESTER, England — Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old man who carried out Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack since 2005, had recently traveled to Syria and Libya, two Islamic State strongholds, and investigators believe he probably got help in Britain as he planned the bombing of the Manchester Arena.
The arrests came as Britain mobilized its armed forces to guard vital locations, after the government decided Tuesday evening to move to the highest level of alert — “critical,” meaning that a further attack “may be imminent.” The authorities are urgently trying to determine how Mr. Abedi became a follower of the Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the attack, and who might have assisted him. Mr. Abedi set off a crude, improvised bomb on Monday night as fans were leaving a pop concert by the American singer Ariana Grande. The explosion killed 22 people and wounded dozens of others; 20 were still hospitalized with serious injuries.
Tours of Parliament were called off until further notice, and the guard-changing ceremony at Buckingham Palace, long a favorite of tourists, was canceled. The military said it would deploy soldiers to support policing at Downing Street, the home and office of the prime minister; at the palace; at Parliament; and at embassies, among other sites. “It seems likely — possible — that he wasn’t doing this on his own,” Britain’s home secretary, Amber Rudd, said on Wednesday.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Wednesday that security officials were alarmed by the nature of the bombing, Britain’s worst terrorist attack since 2005. The government decided Tuesday evening to put the country on the highest level of alert — “critical,” meaning that a further attack “may be imminent.”
“It was more sophisticated than some of the attacks we’ve seen before, and it seems likely — possible — that he wasn’t doing this on his own,” she said. That decision was made because the authorities were still trying to find the “factory” where the bomb was produced, and whether Mr. Abedi had help in assembling the device, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the secrecy surrounding the investigation.
Ms. Rudd said that the bomber, identified as Salman Abedi, 22, had been known to the British intelligence services and to the police “up to a point,” but she did not elaborate. The same official, and members of the sizable Libyan expatriate community in Manchester, said that Mr. Abedi had traveled recently to Libya, where his parents were born and where his father, and possibly his mother, still lives.
Mr. Abedi, who died in the attack, grew up in Manchester and lived less than four miles from the arena, where, officials say, he set off a crude improvised bomb Monday night, as fans were leaving a pop concert by the American singer Ariana Grande. The explosion killed 22 people and wounded 59 others seriously enough that they were hospitalized. Still others had minor wounds. In addition, a top French official, Interior Minister Gérard Collomb, said on Wednesday that Mr. Abedi had traveled to Syria. It was not clear whether the visits to Libya and Syria were part of the same trip.
The police arrested three men in Manchester on Wednesday as part of their investigation, bringing to four the number of people who have been taken into custody so far. What role, if any, they may have played in the attack has not been disclosed.
The BBC, citing unidentified intelligence sources, reported on Wednesday that officials believed Mr. Abedi had been a “mule,” carrying a bomb made by someone else.
The arrests came as Britain mobilized its armed forces to guard vital locations. Tours of Parliament were called off until further notice, and the guard-changing ceremony at Buckingham Palace, long a favorite of tourists, was canceled. The military said it would deploy soldiers to support policing at Downing Street, the home and office of the prime minister; at the palace; at Parliament; and at embassies, among other sites.
In the Fallowfield community, south of the Manchester city center, residents recalled Mr. Abedi, who was born in 1994, as a quiet and respectful young man who as a boy showed a passion and aptitude for playing soccer and would wear a T-shirt of Manchester United, one of the city’s renowned soccer teams.
Mr. Abedi’s father, who is known as Abu Ismail, occasionally issued the call to prayer at their mosque, the Manchester Islamic Center, also known as the Didsbury Mosque.
Salman Abedi and his older brother, Ismail, had both studied the Quran, residents said.
In 2015, according to a neighbor who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about safety, an imam at the mosque, Mohammed Saeed, delivered a sermon condemning terrorism and murder carried out in the name of a political cause. The sermon prompted a heated discussion among congregants, some of whom signed a petition taking issue with the sermon, according to the neighbor.
“He was angry,” the neighbor said of Mr. Abedi. “He scared some people.”
It was around this time, neighbors said, that Mr. Abedi dropped out of school. He had been studying business administration at the University of Salford, in suburban Manchester.
He also appeared to have come to the attention of the British security services around this time, although Ms. Rudd, the home secretary, emphasized that he was considered a peripheral figure and not someone who posed a major threat. He was known to the British intelligence services and to the police only “up to a point,” she said.
Whether the authorities had tracked his travels to Libya or Syria, and what they did in response are open questions.
Manchester, a city of half a million people and a birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, is home to a sizable community of Libyan expatriates, many of them who fled the regime of the longtime dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, in the 1980s. The violent overthrow of Colonel Qaddafi in 2011 amid the tumult of the Arab Spring created a power vacuum in which the Islamic State and other extremist groups have managed to gain traction.
Many in the Libyan community in Manchester who, like Mr. Abedi’s parents, have traveled in recent years to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, spoke of the abundance of extremist messages being spread around young people there. “He would have been radicalized there and then brought it bake to Manchester,” the neighbor said.
A trustee of the mosque, Fawzi Haffar, said in an interview that Mr. Abedi’s father had returned to Libya. Ismael Abedi, the brother, had done voluntary work at the mosque, which also hosts a school, Mr. Haffar added.
Ms. Rudd, speaking to the BBC, said on Wednesday that the bomb “was more sophisticated than some of the attacks we’ve seen before.”
France’s interior minister, Gérard Collomb, told BFMTV on Wednesday morning that French and British intelligence agencies had information that Mr. Abedi had probably been to Syria and that he had “proven” ties to the Islamic State.France’s interior minister, Gérard Collomb, told BFMTV on Wednesday morning that French and British intelligence agencies had information that Mr. Abedi had probably been to Syria and that he had “proven” ties to the Islamic State.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but did not describe Mr. Abedi’s links to the network. In several past terrorist assaults, extremists traveled to Syria from Europe for indoctrination and training.The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but did not describe Mr. Abedi’s links to the network. In several past terrorist assaults, extremists traveled to Syria from Europe for indoctrination and training.
“Today, we know only what British investigators have told us,” Mr. Collomb said. “A British citizen of Libyan descent, but who grew up in Great Britain, and suddenly, after a trip to Libya and then probably to Syria, is radicalized and decides to carry out this attack.”“Today, we know only what British investigators have told us,” Mr. Collomb said. “A British citizen of Libyan descent, but who grew up in Great Britain, and suddenly, after a trip to Libya and then probably to Syria, is radicalized and decides to carry out this attack.”
Mr. Collomb did not provide further details or specify whether Mr. Abedi was part of a larger network of extremists.Mr. Collomb did not provide further details or specify whether Mr. Abedi was part of a larger network of extremists.
The Manchester police offered no details about the three men arrested, saying only they had “executed warrants in South Manchester in connection with the ongoing investigation into Monday night’s horrific attack at the Manchester Arena.” The Manchester police offered no details about the three men arrested, saying only that they had “executed warrants in South Manchester in connection with the ongoing investigation into Monday night’s horrific attack at the Manchester Arena.”
Born in 1994, Mr. Abedi was one of four children of Libyan immigrants. He lived with his family in the Fallowfield section of Manchester, about 3.5 miles south of the arena. He was a student at Salford University. His ID was found at the scene of the bombing. On Tuesday, the authorities raided the house on Elsmore Road, in the Fallowfield neighborhood, where he had lived, after
At the Manchester Islamic Center, also known as the Didsbury Mosque, Fawzi Haffar, a trustee, said that Mr. Abedi’s father had worshiped there, but he said he was not certain if other family members had. setting off a controlled explosion to gain entry.
The father, Abu Ismael Abedi, is believed to have returned to Libya, Mr. Haffar said. Salman’s brother Ismael had recently done voluntary work at the mosque, which also hosts a school, Mr. Haffar added. About 20 heavily armed police officers, some dressed in combat fatigues, approached the property, applying a strip of explosive material parallel to the front door frame, then blasting their way in, according to cellphone images captured by a neighbor, Alan Kinsey, who showed them to reporters.
In the Fallowfield neighborhood, forensics experts examined a house on Elsmore Road that neighbors identified as the Abedi family home. It was raided on Tuesday after the authorities set off a controlled explosion to gain entry. About 20 heavily armed police officers, some dressed in combat fatigues, approached the property, applying a strip of explosive material parallel to the front door frame, then blasting their way in, according to cellphone images captured by a neighbor, Alan Kinsey, who showed them to reporters.
Mr. Kinsey, who lives opposite the house raided by the police, said that he waited and watched at the window, but no one else emerged, so he concluded that the property was unoccupied at the time of the raid itself. “It was empty, they didn’t bring anybody out,” he said.Mr. Kinsey, who lives opposite the house raided by the police, said that he waited and watched at the window, but no one else emerged, so he concluded that the property was unoccupied at the time of the raid itself. “It was empty, they didn’t bring anybody out,” he said.
Mr. Kinsey said that there had been only occupant of the property in the last few months: a man in his 20s who was tall, slim, and often wore white clothing. Mr. Kinsey said he had only one brief interaction with the man over a parking issue.Mr. Kinsey said that there had been only occupant of the property in the last few months: a man in his 20s who was tall, slim, and often wore white clothing. Mr. Kinsey said he had only one brief interaction with the man over a parking issue.
The British police identified Mr. Abedi on Tuesday after several United States news organizations, including CBS News and USA Today, citing American intelligence sources, had already done so.The British police identified Mr. Abedi on Tuesday after several United States news organizations, including CBS News and USA Today, citing American intelligence sources, had already done so.
Ms. Rudd on Wednesday made clear the government’s dismay at the leaks.Ms. Rudd on Wednesday made clear the government’s dismay at the leaks.
“British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again,” she told BBC Radio 4.“British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again,” she told BBC Radio 4.
Asked whether the American leaks had compromised the investigation, she replied “I wouldn’t go that far, but I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldn’t happen again.”Asked whether the American leaks had compromised the investigation, she replied “I wouldn’t go that far, but I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldn’t happen again.”