26 May 2017

Brother of Manchester Bombing Knew Attack Is Coming

Manchester Bombing
The brother of a Muslim extremist Salman Abedi, the suspect accused of carrying out a bombing in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people, reportedly knew his brother was going to carry out an attack, but did not know where or when, according to a spokesman for Libya's counter-terror forces.

Abedi, 22, the suspected suicide bomber, died at the scene of the 22 May attack at an Ariana Grande concert.

Authorities found what was described to ABC News as a bomb-making workshop in Abedi's home in Manchester, with enough chemicals to build several additional bombs.

Libyan authorities had been following Hashem Abedi, the suspect's brother who was born 1997, for a month and a half because of suspected links to ISIS, said Ahmed Dagdoug, the spokesman for Libya's counterterror forces. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

The two brothers were close, and Dagdoug said that Salman placed a call to Hashem, as well as their mother, 30 minutes before carrying out the attack.

Last 23 May, that brother was detained in Libya. During interrogation, Hashem Abedi revealed that he knew his brother was going to carry out an attack, but he did not know where or when, Dagdoug said.

Dagdoug said Hashem Abedi also revealed that he knew exactly how the bomb was made, and that he believes that Salman created the device by himself. He said that he provided some assistance to his brother, but added no specific details as to what that was.

Dagdoug said a network was involved in planning the attack.

The brothers came to Libya on 18 April and Salman Abedi departed on 17 May, Dagdoug said.

It's not clear at this time if Salman went to Syria, Dagdoug said.

Salman Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, was also arrested in Libya.