French minister: Manchester bomber had ‘proven links’ to Daesh

The Manchester suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert venue packed with children had recently returned from Libya, a British minister said, and her French counterpart said he had links with Daesh and had probably visited Syria too.

Interior minister Amber Rudd said Salman Abedi had likely not acted alone, and troops were being deployed to key sites across Britain to help prevent further attacks after the official threat level was raised to “critical”.

Police made three new arrests in South Manchester today in connection with the concert bombing. They provided no details on the individuals arrested.

Read: Manchester bomber likely did not act alone

Rudd said up to 3,800 soldiers could be deployed on Britain’s streets, taking on guard duties at places like Buckingham Palace and Downing Street to free up police to focus on patrols and investigation. An initial deployment of 984 had been ordered, initially in London, then elsewhere.

Rudd also scolded US officials for leaking details about the investigation into the Manchester attack before British authorities were prepared to go public.

British-born Abedi, 22, blew himself up on Monday night at the Manchester Arena indoor venue at the end of a concert by US pop singer Ariana Grande, attended by thousands of children and teenagers.

His 22 victims included an eight-year-old girl, several teenage girls, a 28-year-old man and a Polish couple who had come to collect their daughters.

The bombing also left 64 people wounded, of whom 20 were receiving critical care for highly traumatic injuries to major organs and to limbs, a health official said.

‘Proven links to Daesh’

“It seems likely, possible, that he [Abedi] wasn’t doing this on his own,” Rudd said on BBC radio. She said Abedi had been known to security services before the bombing.

Asked about reports that Abedi had recently returned from Libya, Rudd said she believed that had now been confirmed.

Read: Memorial in London for Manchester terror attack victims

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said British investigators had told French authorities Abedi had probably travelled to Syria as well.

Colomb told BFMTV:

Today we only know what British investigators have told us — someone of British nationality, of Libyan origin, who suddenly after a trip to Libya, then probably to Syria, becomes radicalised and decides to carry out this attack.

Asked if he believed Abedi had the support of a network, Collomb said: “That is not known yet, but perhaps. In any case, [he had] links with Daesh that are proven.”

Daesh, now being driven from territories in Syria and Iraq by Western and Iran-backed forces, claimed responsibility for the Manchester attack, but there were contradictions in its accounts of the action and a lack of crucial detail.

Read: Muslim Brotherhood condemns terrorist attack in Manchester, UK

Prime Minister Theresa May announced late last night that the official threat level had been raised to its highest level for the first time in a decade, meaning an attack could be imminent.

May chaired a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency response committee at her Downing Street office this morning.

Britain has a national election coming up on 8 June, but all campaigning has been suspended since the bombing. Coverage of the attack and its aftermath has pushed out political news from the British media.

Washington rebuked over leaks

Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994 to parents of Libyan origin, according to US sources citing British contacts.

As Collomb was speaking in France, Rudd was asked by the BBC about the fact that information about Abedi, including his name, had come out from the United States and whether she would look again at how information was shared with other countries.

Yes, quite frankly. I mean the British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that should not happen again.

Asked whether the US leaks had compromised the investigation, she said: “I wouldn’t go that far but I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldn’t happen again.”

France, which has repeatedly been hit by devastating militant attacks since 2015, extended emergency powers after the Manchester bombing.

It was the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London’s transportation network.

The British parliament, which is usually open to visitors, said it would close to anyone who did not hold a permanent entry pass with immediate effect due to the increased security threat. The closure would last until advice from authorities changed.

Attacks in cities including Istanbul, Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Petersburg, Berlin and London have shocked Europeans already anxious over security challenges from mass immigration and pockets of domestic radicalism.

Right-wing white fascism has also been responsible for murders and terrorist attacks, with Labour MP Jo Cox having been murdered by terrorist Thomas Mair. Mair shot and stabbed the Labour lawmaker repeatedly in Birstall in a brutal murder while allegedly shouting “Britain first!” as he carried out the attack.