British police say officers investigating the Manchester Arena concert blast have arrested a fifth suspect, and are assessing a package the suspect was carrying.
British police say officers investigating the Manchester Arena concert blast have arrested a fifth suspect, and are assessing a package the suspect was carrying. Greater Manchester Police said the suspect was detained in Wigan, a town to the west of Manchester. The force did not immediately provide details. Officers also arrested three men in Manchester, where a bomber attacked an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 and injuring dozens others. Another man, the brother of alleged bomber Salman Abedi, was arrested on Tuesday. Police said Wednesday that the other arrests had been made in the south of the city, where a day earlier a 23-year-old man was also arrested and a number of homes were searched. Police are trying to establish if bomber Abedi acted alone or whether there could be a risk of further attacks. ABC News learned Abedi was the son of Libyan immigrants. The British home secretary said Abedi may have recently visited Libya and Syria. Intelligence officials are looking into any possible connections to ISIS, which has praised Abedi’s attack. Police also combing the center of Manchester for clues as to who may have helped Abedi develop the device that killed all those people. Experts said the bomb contained nuts and bolts intended to maim and murder as many as possible. On Wednesday, British police confirmed they now know the identities of all of those who died in Monday’s bombing. Among the victims who died was an 8-year-old girl named Saffie Rose Roussos, Georgina Callander, 18, and Olivia Campbell, 15. So far, Roussos is the youngest victim to be publicly identified. The official threat level was raised to its highest point following the suicide bombing. Officials say soldiers will be deployed to places like Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and Parliament. They will replace armed police as Operation Temperer takes effect Wednesday. Officials believe this will free up police to fight the threat of further extremist action against civilian targets, amid fears that another attack may be imminentThe French president on Wednesday also sought to extend the country’s state of emergency, imposed after Islamic State attacks, until November.
