Manchester: Father, brother of suspected suicide bomber arrested in Libya

The father and younger brother of the man suspected of carrying out the suicide bomb attack that killed 22 people and wounded scores at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester this week have been arrested in Libya.

Libyan counter-terrorist officers in Tripoli arrested Salman Abedi’s brother, 18-year-old Hashim Abedi, and said the teenager had confessed that both he and his brother were a part of the Islamic State (IS) group.

Spokesman Ahmed Bin Salem said they had evidence Hashim is involved in IS “with his brother”.

“We have been following him for more than one month-and-a-half,” Mr Bin Salem said.

“He was in contact with his brother and he knew about the attack.”

But the father, Ramadan Abedi, denied his son’s involvement in an interview with The Associated Press before being arrested, saying: “We don’t believe in killing innocents.”

Photo: Ramadan Abedi denied his son’s involvement in the attack. (AP)

“The situation is normal but the family is a bit confused because Salman doesn’t have this ideology, he doesn’t believe in these beliefs,” he said.

“I’m sure that Salman didn’t carry out such an act but there are hidden hands behind this, security authorities doing something against the Libyan community especially the youth there.”

British police meanwhile made an arrest in Nuneaton, south of Manchester, after Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Salman Abedi “likely” did not act alone and had been known to security forces “up to a point”.

She added: “When this operation is over, we will want to look at his background and what happened, how he became radicalised and what support he might have been given.”

Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British citizen born to Libyan parents, died in the attack, which targeted Grande’s young fans as they left the indoor arena.

Who was Salman Abedi?

Here is what we know so far about the suicide bomber who killed 22 people in Manchester.

The New York Times has released detailed images of the blast scene which it says were gathered by British authorities.

The paper says the pictures show the bomb was a highly powerful device full of shrapnel including nuts and screws.

British authorities have reacted angrily to the publication of the images, saying it undermines their investigation.

Hunt for bomb-maker

The arrest in Nuneaton brought to seven the number of people arrested in the UK in the aftermath of the attack.

A source close to the investigation into the bombing told Reuters the focus was on whether Abedi had received help in putting together the bomb, and on where it had been done.

Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins declined to comment on whether police had found the alleged maker of the explosive device but the BBC reported that security services thought the bomb was too sophisticated for Abedi to have built by himself.

Police have found more explosives that could have been used in further attacks, the Independent reported, citing security services.

One device was been blown up in a controlled explosion, but authorities are concerned further bombs could have been created, the report said.

Source: Manchester attack: Father, brother of suspected suicide bomber Salman Abedi arrested in Libya – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)