Re: "At least 19 killed in suspected attack at Ariana Grande concert in British arena
Pictured on a beach with friends: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi
BENEDICT MOORE-BRIDGER
Evening Standard
The Manchester suicide bomber was today described as an “ordinary” and “quiet” schoolboy who smoked drugs, before turning into a militant jihadist.
New pictures emerged today of Salman Abedi, with friends on a beach, believed to be in Libya, and outside his Manchester home aged about 14 or 15.
Friends said he smoked cannabis and showed little interest in religion until about a year ago when he started spending time with different friends.
One said: “It was like a turning point. He suddenly started hanging out with people I’d never seen before and not his old friends.”
Another said: “He was just a normal kid — not one of those who ever particularly stood out.”
Salman Abedi has been identified as the man behind the suicide bombing in Manchester
Abedi went to Burnage Academy and was said to be a keen footballer, often playing at the ground at Whalley Range High School where the Manchester United Foundation held soccer sessions, they said.
It emerged he had only just returned from war-torn Libya before launching his horrific attack. He is understood to have made regular journeys to the North African country in recent years.
It has been claimed he may have also spent time in Syria.
A huge security clampdown was launched today as three men were arrested in south Manchester in connection with the concert bomb attack.
A massive counter terror operation was also under way to trace accomplices of Abedi.
Reports said that 22-year-old Abedi may have travelled to Manchester by train from London raising the possibility the device was assembled in the capital.
Pictured on a beach with friends: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi
BENEDICT MOORE-BRIDGER
Evening Standard
The Manchester suicide bomber was today described as an “ordinary” and “quiet” schoolboy who smoked drugs, before turning into a militant jihadist.
New pictures emerged today of Salman Abedi, with friends on a beach, believed to be in Libya, and outside his Manchester home aged about 14 or 15.
Friends said he smoked cannabis and showed little interest in religion until about a year ago when he started spending time with different friends.
One said: “It was like a turning point. He suddenly started hanging out with people I’d never seen before and not his old friends.”
Another said: “He was just a normal kid — not one of those who ever particularly stood out.”
Salman Abedi has been identified as the man behind the suicide bombing in Manchester
Abedi went to Burnage Academy and was said to be a keen footballer, often playing at the ground at Whalley Range High School where the Manchester United Foundation held soccer sessions, they said.
It emerged he had only just returned from war-torn Libya before launching his horrific attack. He is understood to have made regular journeys to the North African country in recent years.
It has been claimed he may have also spent time in Syria.
A huge security clampdown was launched today as three men were arrested in south Manchester in connection with the concert bomb attack.
A massive counter terror operation was also under way to trace accomplices of Abedi.
Reports said that 22-year-old Abedi may have travelled to Manchester by train from London raising the possibility the device was assembled in the capital.
