UK bomber told mother ‘Forgive me’ before blast

Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was known to the security services and his risk to the public remained “subject to review” before he carried out his deadly attack.

Abedi, whose sister said he “wanted revenge” for Western military strikes in the Middle East, was a “former subject of interest” to MI5, a Whitehall source confirmed.

Hours before the attack, he had phoned his mother and said “forgive me”, according to a Libyan anti-terror official.

Libyan investigators believe Abedi acted alone when perpetrating the outrage, Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem added.

Relatives of the British-born bomber are being interrogated by Libyan authorities in Tripoli, where his father Ramadan and teenage brother Hashim were arrested on Wednesday.

Abedi’s mother, Samia Tabbal, was said to have told them her son left the North African country bound for the UK four days before detonating his device at Manchester Arena.

Hashim, 18, allegedly claimed his older brother learnt to build bombs from the internet, hoping to “seek victory for the Islamic State”, Mr Bin Salem added.

Details of the intelligence agencies’ knowledge of Abedi came as police hunting the network behind his attack said they had made “significant” arrests and seized “very important” items in raids linked to the investigation.

After chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, Theresa May said the terror threat level will remain at critical – meaning another attack is expected imminently.

In an indication of the level of counter-terrorism activity, a senior Whitehall source revealed that 18 plots had been foiled since 2013 in Britain. Those included five since the Westminster attack in March this year.

It is understood the scale of the threat being dealt with by counter-terror agencies is on an “unprecedented” scale and intelligence officers faced “difficult professional judgments” about where to focus their investigations.

The source said: “MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations, involving some 3,000 subjects of interest (SOIs) at any one time.

“Abedi was one of a larger pool of former SOIs whose risk remained subject to review by MI5 and its partners. Where former SOIs show sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider reopening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgments based on partial information.”

Eight people remained in custody in connection with Monday’s attack, in which Abedi targeted music fans at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, killing 22 and injuring dozens.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation.”
The killer’s sister, Jomana Abedi, told the Wall Street Journal her brother may have been reacting to US-led strikes in the Middle East.
“I think he saw children – Muslim children – dying everywhere, and wanted revenge,” she said. “He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God.”

Meanwhile, UK frustration at repeated leaks of sensitive information by US agencies led to the suspension of co-operation between the police and law enforcement counterparts across the Atlantic.
Mr Hopkins said the leaks – including leaked evidence photographs from the scene of the attack published by the New York Times – had caused “distress and upset” to the victims’ families.
Defending its decision to publish the pictures the New York Times said: “The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes.”
The Prime Minister said she would raise the leaks with US President Donald Trump in the margins of a Nato summit in Brussels, stressing that the “special relationship” was based on trust.

The president criticised the leaks and vowed to investigate. In White House statement, he said: “The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling. These leaks have been going on for a long time and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security.
“There is no relationship we cherish more than the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was “confident” the leaks would stop and the suspension of intelligence-sharing would be temporary.

Meanwhile, police are searching a house in Wigan after a man was arrested in the town on Wednesday as part of the investigation into the Manchester bombing.
And a bomb disposal squad was called to a property in Withington after a man was arrested on Wednesday night, police said.
Police also confirmed they were searching a property in Moss Side following an arrest on Wednesday.

– Manchester bomber was in Turkey four days before attack –

It has been revealed that Salman Abedi travelled to Britain from Turkey only four days before the suicide bombing in Manchester, according to German intelligence.

Abedi, 22, who was born in Manchester to Libyan parents, flew from Istanbul via Düsseldorf’s international airport, a German intelligence official said. Istanbul may also have been a transit stopover.

There were conflicting reports in Germany this morning about Abedi’s route. Der Tagesspiegel reported that he travelled via Prague and Düsseldorf.

A senior Turkish official has told the Financial Times that the Turkish government sent a file on Abedi to the British authorities on Wednesday morning. He refused to discuss the details of the communication.

British investigators have been trying to establish whether Abedi had a connection to Islamic State or other violent Jihadist organisations such as al-Qaeda. IS claimed responsibility for the Manchester bombing, but British intelligence officials are treating the claim with caution.

Britain’s Prince Charles meets children at the Oval cricket ground in London, Thursday, May 25, 2017. On the pitch The Prince met members of eight teams from eight local primary schools taking part in a cricket competition. The eight teams are representing each of the Nations competing in the ICC Champions Trophy (England; New Zealand; Australia; South Africa; India; Pakistan; Bangladesh; and Sri Lanka). (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
An armed soldier and policeman stand guard at Parliament, in London, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Armed troops are guarding vital locations in the country after the official threat level was raised to its highest point following a suicide bombing that killed more than 20 in Manchester. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
People queue to place flowers at St Ann’s square in central Manchester, England Thursday May 25 2017. More than 20 people were killed in an explosion following a Ariana Grande concert at the venue late Monday evening. Britons will find armed troops at vital locations Wednesday after the official threat level was raised to its highest point. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, right, speaks to Amy Barlow, 12, from Rawtenstall, Lancashire, left, and her mother, Kathy, as she visits the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital in Manchester England, to meet victims of the terror attack in the city earlier this week and to thank members of staff who treated them Thursday May 25, 2017. (Peter Byrne/Pool via AP)
Advertisements