A British-born student named Salman Abedi has been identified as the Manchester suicide bomber who killed 22 people and wounded many.
According to NBC News, the 22-year-old is believed to have had ties with terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Multiple news outlets have reported that Abedi travelled to multiple countries, including Libya, within the past 12 months.
Born in Manchester and having grown up in a tight-knit Libyan community, Abedi is the 2nd youngest of 4 children and his parents were Libyan refugees who fled to the UK to escape Colonel Gaddafi. He was a business student at the University of Salford in Manchester. Besides that, The Telegraph noted that Abedi had become radicalised recently and had worshipped at a local mosque that has, in the past, been accused of fund-raising for jihadists.
Apparently, he was known to British intelligence officials before the attack. NBC added that his own family warned authorities that he was dangerous.
It was also reported that his homemade explosive device was full of nuts and bolts and he was identified by a bank card found in his pocket at the scene of the explosion after Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” concert at Manchester Arena. The identification was confirmed by facial recognition technology, according to U.S. intelligence official.
In other news, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the terror threat level in the country is being raised to “critical” and soldiers will now be deployed on the streets to protect key sites. Also, English pop group Take That has cancelled their 3-day concert “out of respect” for the victims and their families.
Sources: The Telegraph, NY Daily News, NBC News, BBC.
