Who was Salman Abedi
and why did he carry
out the Ariana Grande Manchester bombing?
Salman Abedi perpetrated the worst outrage
Britain has seen in a decade just days after
returning from Libya, according to reports.
Today Home Secretary Amber Rudd said
he was known to intelligence services
‘up to a point’.
The 22-year-old’s visit to his family’s native
country fuelled concerns he was preparing
for Monday’s deadly assault under the
guidance of hardened jihadists.
A friend told the paper: ‘He went to Libya
three weeks ago and came back recently,
like days ago.’The Times reported the
Manchester-born bomber spent three weeks
in the war-torn north African nation before
the attack on Manchester Arena, in which
he was killed.
While French interior minister Gerard Collomb
has said Manchester bomber Salman Abedi
is believed to have travelled to Syria and had
‘proven’ links with the Islamic State terror group.
Both Islamic State (IS), who claimed
responsibility for the atrocity, and al Qaida
have a presence in Libya, but the possibility
remains that Abedi travelled to their heartland
in Syria for training.
Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday
night it was possible he had planned his
deadly attack with a ‘wider group of individuals’.
Born and raised in Manchester, Abedi grew
up in a Muslim household – but matured
into a university dropout with an appetite
for bloodshed.
He was registered as living at Elsmore
Road as recently as last year, where police
raided a downstairs red-bricked semi-detached
operty on Tuesday.
Neighbours recalled an abrasive, tall, skinny
young man who was little known in the
neighbourhood, and often seen in traditional
Islamic clothing.
He is thought to have lived at a number of
addresses in the area, including one in
Wilbraham Road, where plainclothes police
made an arrest on Tuesday.
Abedi previously lived with his mother Samia
Tabbal, father Ramadan Abedi and a brother,
Ismail Abedi, who was born in Westminster
in 1993.
He is thought to have a younger brother, Hashim
Abedi, and a sister Jomana, whose Facebook
profile suggests she is from Tripoli and lives in
Manchester.
A family friend, who asked not to be named,
said they were known to the Libyan community in
the city and described Abedi as ‘normal’.
He told the Press Association: ‘He was always
friendly, nothing to suggest (he was violent).
He was normal, to be honest.’
Abedi is believed to have attended the
Manchester Islamic Centre, also known as
the Didsbury Mosque.
Here, he reportedly caught the attention
of one imam whom he stared down during
a sermon denouncing terrorism.
‘Salman showed me a face of hate after that
sermon,’ Mohammed Saeed told The Guardian
of the 2015 encounter.
‘He was showing me hatred.’
Fawaz Haffar, a businessman and trustee
of the mosque, said he ‘probably’ did attend
there, given his father used to perform the
call to prayer and his brother Ismail attended
as a volunteer until recently.
He said: ‘I see him (the father) praying but I
don’t know really who he is. I see him sometimes
raising the azan, or call to prayer, but that was
a long time ago.
‘As far as I knew he went back to Libya
when things were much better over there,
to work over there.
‘He was devout as far as I know. He had
three sons, one of them is detained, one
of them is a suspect and the third one I have
no idea who he is.’
He said the mosque is moderate, modern and
liberal and that he is a member of an
organisation liaising with police, the Independent
Advisory Group.
Abedi studied business and management at
Salford University two or three years ago,
a source said, but dropped out of the course
and did not complete his degree.
The source said Abedi began his course
in 2014 and attended lectures for two years
but then stopped going.
He would have graduated this summer.
He did not live in university accommodation,
had not been in any trouble at the university
and was not on any radar for pastoral or
social care.
It is understood Abedi was not known to
have participated in any clubs or societies
during his time in higher education – and
never met with the resident imam.
Dr Sam Grogan, the university’s Pro-Vice
Chancellor Student Experience, said:
‘All at the University of Salford are shocked
and saddened by the events of last night.
Our thoughts are with all those involved,
their families and their friends.’
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