MANCHESTER: A suicide bombing at a packed Manchester pop concert designed to cause ‘maximum carnage’ killed 22 people including children, in the deadliest terror attack in Britain for more than a decade.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said police know the identity of the bomber, who died in the blast late Monday, and believed he acted alone.
However, police arrested a 23-year-old man on Tuesday morning in connection with the attack.
The police, later on, named 22-year-old Salman Abedi as suspect behind the attack but declined to give any further details. British media said he was born in the northwestern English city and that his Libyan parents had fled the regime of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Screaming fans, many of them teenagers, fled the venue in panic after the explosion at the end of a sold-out concert by US star Ariana Grande in the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena, in northwestern England.
“A single terrorist detonated his improvised explosive device near one of the exits of the venue, deliberately choosing the time and place to cause maximum carnage and to kill and injure indiscriminately,” May said in a statement outside Downing Street after an emergency ministerial meeting.
The blast occurred in the foyer of the indoor arena, a covered area which links the auditorium to Victoria Station, a train and tram hub.
Witnesses reported being near the arena’s ticket machines and merchandise stores, as chaos ensued inside the concert hall.
While 22 people have been confirmed dead, many of the 59 people injured have life-threatening conditions, May said.
“We know that among those killed and injured were many children and young people,” the prime minister added.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies on the floor after the blast and some fans were trampled as panicked crowds tried to flee the venue.
“There were fathers carrying their little girls in tears,” Sebastian Diaz, a 19-year-old from Newcastle, told AFP.
Families were separated, with dozens of young people taken to nearby hotels overnight, and some parents were still desperately seeking for their children on Tuesday.
“I’m just hearing nothing – her phone’s dead,” Charlotte Campbell, whose 15-year-old daughter Olivia was at the concert, told BBC radio.
The first victim named was Georgina Callander, an 18-year-old from Lancashire in northwest England, whose death was announced by her college.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that was the deadliest in Britain since July 7, 2005 when four suicide bombers inspired by Al-Qaeda attacked London’s transport system during rush hour, killing 52 people and wounding 700 more.
“One of the caliphate’s soldiers placed bombs among the crowds,” the IS group said in a statement published on its social media channels, and threatened more attacks.
It revived memories of the November 2015 attack at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris in which armed men wearing explosive belts stormed in and killed 90 people. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.
May said it was ‘a callous terrorist attack’, conducted with ‘appalling, sickening cowardice’ and Queen Elizabeth condemned it as an ‘act of barbarity’.
Britain’s national terror threat level has been ‘severe’, meaning an attack is highly likely, since August 2014, and May said this would remain unchanged, but under review.
Grande, who is popular with teens and pre-teens, expressed her anguish following the Manchester attack. “Broken. From the bottom of my heart, I am so, so sorry. I don’t have words,” the 23-year-old wrote on Twitter.
In an unusual response, the head of the MI5 domestic Intelligence agency, Andrew Parker, said his teams had been working through the night.
“We remain relentlessly focused, in numerous current operations, on doing all we can to combat the scourge of terrorism and keep the country safe,” he said.
Campaigning for the June 8 general election, in which May’s Conservatives are expected to regain power, has been suspended.
US President Donald Trump led condolences from political leaders across the globe, as well as stars from the world of music and football.
“So many young, beautiful, innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers,” Trump said during a visit to Bethlehem.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed condolences.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the explosion. While sympathizing with families of the deceased, the PM stated that elimination of terrorism requires concerted efforts and any such act targeted towards innocent people was highly condemnable.
