Britain has arrested a “large part” of the network behind Manchester’s suicide bomb attack, police said on Friday, while the British government came under fire for cutting police budgets as election campaigning resumed.
Nine suspects were in detention on UK soil in connection with the blast, for which the Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility. Police in Libya have detained the father and brother of 22-year-old bomber Salman Abedi.
Britain’s counter-terrorism police chief Mark Rowley said police had got hold of “a large part of the network” linked to the atrocity in which seven children aged under 18 were among the 22 dead.
Photo: AP
“We are very happy we’ve got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about, but there’s still a little bit more to do,” he said.
Police said the nine men in British custody ranged in age from 18 to 44, including a 30-year-old arrested in the Moss Side area of south Manchester early on Friday and a 44-year-old detained in nearby Rusholme later in the day.
“I woke up because I heard the police shouting, they were shouting ‘get down, it’s the police, hands on the ground, get on the ground,’” local resident Anita Santonelli said, adding that she saw about 10 armed police officers during the morning operation.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was the “responsibility” of governments to minimize the risk of terror by giving police the funding they need after cuts made while British Prime Minister Theresa May served as the home secretary.
Following Monday’s attack in which 116 people were also injured, May and Corbyn suspended campaigning for a snap June 8 election.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also visited London on Friday in an expression of solidarity after Britain reacted furiously to leaks of sensitive details about the investigation emanating from Washington.
“We take full responsibility for that and obviously regret that happened,” Tillerson told reporters.
Manchester police briefly suspended intelligence-sharing with the US over the leaks, but Tillerson said their “special relationship” would “withstand this particular unfortunate event.”
US President Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute those responsible for the “deeply troubling” security breach.
Monday’s bombing at a concert by US pop idol Ariana Grande was the latest in a series of IS-claimed attacks in Europe that have coincided with an offensive on the militant group in Syria and Iraq by US, British and other Western forces.
Dozens of IS fighters were killed on Friday in US strikes on Syria.
Britain’s terror threat assessment has been hiked to “critical,” the highest level, meaning an attack is considered imminent.
With the heightened security threat, Chelsea has canceled a parade scheduled for today in London to celebrate its Premier League football title, saying they thought it was “inappropriate to go ahead” following the bombing.
Arsenal, who were scheduled to face Chelsea in yesterday’s FA Cup final, have also said they would not hold a victory parade if they win at Wembley.
The issue of security, which was not widely discussed in the general election campaign before the attack, is now expected to feature highly.
A YouGov poll in The Times newspaper put the Conservatives on 43 percent compared with Labour on 38 percent, far better for Labour than the double-digit margin that had previously separated it from the governing party.
However, the poll also suggested that 41 percent of respondents believe the Conservatives would handle defense and security best, compared with 18 percent who said the same of Labour.
YouGov polled 2,052 people on Wednesday and Thursday.
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