On Tuesday, as I’m sure you all know, there was a devastating terrorist suicide bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester Arena. 22 people, some of them children as young as 8 years old, were killed in the blast, and many more were horrifically injured. Salman Abedi was the attacker, who died in the explosion, the result of an improvised explosives device which he detonated shortly after Grande had left the stage.
The police investigation rages on
The Police investigation that has been undertaken since the attack took place on Tuesday has been carried out in order to establish whether or not there was a network of terrorists behind the Manchester Arena attack.
ISIL have taken responsibility for the attack, but it is as yet unsure whether or not Abedi acted alone or planned the attack (which was clearly premeditated, based on evidence), and that’s what the police are hoping to determine.
Since the Manchester Arena bombing on Tuesday night, the police have made a total of 10 arrests, all being held “on suspicion of offences contrary to the Terrorism Act.” They have confirmed the ages and genders of those arrested. Two 24-year-old men, a 21-year-old man, an 18-year-old boy, a 33-year-old man, a 22-year-old man, a 38-year-old man, and a 30-year-old man remain in custody, while a 34-year-old woman who was arrested on Wednesday in Blackley and a 16-year-old boy who was arrested in Withington on Thursday have both been released without charge.
The latest arrest was made in the early hours of this morning. The man was arrested in Moss Side, Manchester, at the crack of dawn. Now with eight men in custody with possible connections with the attack on Manchester Arena, the police continue to investigate the incident and the events leading up to it. One of the men is thought to be Ismail Abedi, the 23-year-old brother of Salman Abedi, the perpetrator of the attack.
Police raids across South Manchester
All across South Manchester, the police have been conducting raids, particularly yesterday. These raids have led to the discovery of some suspicious materials a lot like the ones used to make the bomb that killed 22 people in the Manchester Arena. A bomb disposal team was summoned to a house in Wigan to help with a search, so it’s spreading across the UK, extending to other cities.
Manchester police are warning that there could be other bomb-making materials out there that they have yet to uncovered, and that there could be accomplices in the Manchester Arena attack who are still at large that they have yet to find and arrest, so watch out. Also, the UK government have resumed sharing its intelligence with the US government after the leaks to US media sources got straightened out as being someone else’s fault.
The threat level in the UK following the Manchester Arena suicide bombing continues to be “critical,” after it was raised following the attack. This means further terrorist attacks may be imminent at any place in the UK at any time of day, so that’s reassuring. Armed police and UK troops continued to guard important locations and cities across the country.
For the first time, armed police are patrolling trains outside London. We’re living in pretty terrifying times.
Details released about the victims of the attack
Details have been released regarding the victims of the bombing attack on the Manchester Arena. The names of the 22 people killed, including 8-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos and off-duty police officer Elaine McIver, have been confirmed. 116 injured victims were taken by sixty ambulances to eight hospitals across Manchester, 75 of which are still being treated for their injuries, 23 of which are in critical care, some with “life-changing injuries” to their bodies. This includes five children at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, who yesterday were personally visited by the Queen.
