Updated at 4.10pm
THE GREATER MANCHESTER Police has released CCTV images of suicide bomber Salman Abedi on his way to the MEN arena on Monday night.
Abedi killed 22 people, many of them children, when he detonated the device at the close of the Ariana Grande concert.
Police has worked ever since to try to track down Abedi’s accomplices and understand how the attack was planned, carried out and whether any more are planned.
Investigators gave details of Abedi’s last hours as they released photographs from security cameras showing the bespectacled suicide bomber in trainers, jeans, black sleeves, a black cap and a black puffer waistcoat, over which the straps of his backpack can be seen.
This afternoon police in Manchester carried out searches at an address in Moss Side. Another search is ongoing.
Police have also arrested a 25-year-old man in the Old Trafford area on suspicion of offences contrary to the terrorism act.
A total of 14 people have been arrested in connection with the Manchester bombings – two of these people (a man and a woman) have since been released.
Timeline of events
A detailed infographic of all the progress made in the investigation was released, with 11 people remaining in custody in relation to the incident.
In a statement, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the investigation is making “good progress”.
They said: “We know one of the last places Abedi went was the city centre flat and from there he left to make his way to the Manchester arena.
The flat is highly relevant as a location which we believe may be the final assembly place for the device.
Two unarmed police officers remained on guard outside the entrance to Granby House, believed to contain the flat in question, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.
“It is surprising, because these people are just under your nose and you don’t know it,” said Harpreet Lota, a Manchester resident walking past the building.
They said that they “need people to tell us if they have any information about his movements” from when he returned to the UK on 18 May to 22 May, when he carried out the attack.
Within an hour of the attack, “full command and control of the incident” was established and officers discovered the bomber’s identity within two hours, they said.
“Our priorities,” they said, “are to understand the run up to this terrible event and to understand if more people were involved in planning this attack.”
Yesterday, Prime Minister Theresa May lowered the terror alert level in the UK from critical to severe.
Explaining the decision to reduce the terror threat level from critical — its highest level — to severe, May said troops would also be withdrawn from the streets, another measure adopted after the bombing.
“We should be clear about what this means: A threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely, the country should remain vigilant,” she said.
Operation Temperer, which involved the deployment of troops on patrol alongside police, will be wound down on Monday night, at the end of the bank holiday weekend.
“From midnight on Monday, there will be a well-planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces, who will return to normal duties,” she said.
With reporting from AFP - © – AFP 2017
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