British authorities seek public’s help in identifying suspect’s earlier whereabouts.
WASHINGTON — British police released a closed-circuit television image of the Manchester, England, suicide bomber Saturday evening and asked the public to provide any footage it might have of Salman Abedi or his likely whereabouts in the period before his bomb was ignited.
The surveillance camera image shows the 22-year-old British citizen of Libyan descent in glasses and a baseball cap and carrying a pack authorities believe contained the explosive device that killed 22 people and injured at least 119 others Monday night.
The bomb exploded as the crowd for an Arianna Grande concert was leaving the Manchester Arena. Exactly where the photo released Saturday was taken was not identified and the images’s background is obscured.
Police have said they believe the bomb might have been assembled nearby and are seeking images of the bomber en route to the arena or at other points around Manchester that day. Anyone with images they believe could be relevant to the investigation is being asked to send them to UKPoliceImageAppeal.co.uk
So far, 13 people — including the suspect’s father and brother — have been arrested in connection with the case, with more than 1,000 police and others involved in the probe. Authorities know that Abedi returned to Britain from Libya on May 18, just four days before the bombing.
Anyone with knowledge of Abedi’s movements between his return on that Thursday and the time of the bombing is asked to contact authorities, Greater Manchester Police Chief Ian Hopkins and Deputy Commissioner Neil Basu with Britain’s counter-terrorism unit said in a statement released Saturday evening. They said the investigation is proceeding.
“The investigation is making good progress and 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, ” the statement said.
“We have 14 locations that are still being searched and there are 13 people that have been arrested on suspicion of offences contrary to the Terrorism Act. In total 17 warrants have been carried out mainly across Greater Manchester, ” it added.
As the fast-moving investigation proceeds, Britain lowered its threat level from critical to severe on Saturday. The critical level hadn’ t been posted since the July 2005 London subway bombings.
British authorities have been critical of American officials who have leaked information about the case, including the suspect’s name, without the consent of the lead British investigators.
The investigation continues amid major public events over what is also a three-day holiday weekend in Britain, which includes a major music concert at Hull, featuring Katy Perry, and parades scheduled by regional soccer clubs.
