UK Threat Level Raised To Highest Level After Manchester Terror Attack
The United Kingdom terror threat level has been raised to the highest level of “critical,” meaning further attacks may be imminent, the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, has said.
The revelation, it was gathered, came after investigators were unable to rule out Manchester bombing suspect Salman Abedi acted alone.
Twenty-two people were killed and 59 injured on Monday night when a suicide bomber attacked concert-goers at Manchester Arena where a United States pop singer, Ariana Grande was billed to perform.
But May said military personnel would now be deployed to protect key sites.
She added that military personnel might also be seen at other events, such as concerts, and would work under the command of police officers.
Reacting to the attack outside her Downing Street office, after a meeting with security and intelligence chiefs, May disclosed that the police believed they knew the identity of the bomber.
Describing all terrorist acts as “cowardly,” she was quoted by Reuters as saying that “this attack stands out for its appalling sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless, children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives.”
The prime minister also said security services were working to see if a wider terror group was involved in the attack.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State terror group yesterday claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack.
According to Reuters, the Islamist terror group, which has in recent times been forced from its occupied territories in Syria and Iraq, had claimed the attack was in revenge against “Crusaders”.
But this claim is being disputed by Western experts, who noted that the group had offered two contradictory accounts of the attack, which also did not tally with the British police version.
The US director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, said the US has not confirmed the claims by IS, adding: “They claim responsibility for every attack. We have not verified yet the connection.”
However, the Manchester police said it had arrested a 23-year-old man in South Manchester in connection with the attack, which fell less than three weeks before the national election.
Besides the arrest of the yet-to-be-identified 23-year-old man, the British police also raided a property in the Fallowfield district of the city, where they were said to have carried out a controlled explosion, in search for accomplices.
Also, witnesses in the Whalley Range district said armed policemen had surrounded a newly-built block of flats along a usually serene tree-lined street.
The attacker, who was later identified as Salman Abedi was believed to have blown himself up.
He was born in Manchester though with Libyan roots, the BBC said.
