News May 24, 2017

Ariana Grande concert attacker named

Manchester Police have identified the man behind 22 confirmed fatalities at Ariana Grande’s concert on Monday night as 22-year-old British-born man Salman Abedi.

According to CNN, police are still looking for possible accomplices having conducted raids at two locations in Manchester and setting off a controlled explosion at another. The third raid saw police arrest a 23-year-old man.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has warned that Abedi could be part of a wider network and that the country’s terror alert level was being upgraded to “critical”.

Abedi set off explosives in the foyer at the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena on May 22 as Grande was ending her concert. The suicide bomber left at least 22 dead and 59 people injured. He was killed in the bombing.

According to reports, two victims have been identified as 8-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos and 18-year-old Georgina Callander.

Georgina. Source: Instagram

Terror group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack via messaging app Telegram, but no evidence of its ties to the incident have been released yet.

The bombing is considered Britain’s deadliest bombing in nearly 12 years, since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London bus and Tubes in 2005.

Industry whispers suggest Grande will suspend her global tour in light of the incident. She is due to tour Australia in September.