By AGENCIES
newsdesk@reporter.co.ke
As many as twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured following a suspected terrorist attack in Manchester.
An explosion rocked the Manchester Arena at 22:35 on Monday evening following a concert by US singer Ariana Grande.
More than 50 people were injured during the incident, with many in hospital over night with serious injuries.
Police say they believe Monday night’s attack, the deadliest on British soil in 12 years, was carried out by one man who had died at the scene.
The The #IslamicState group claim responsibility for #ManchesterBombing, saying in a statement published on its social media channels that “one of the caliphate’s soldiers placed bombs among the crowds”.
And the terrorist who detonated a bomb at Manchester Arena killing 22 people, including children, has been identified.
The bomber, who killed himself at the packed venue last night, has been named as Salman Abedi, according to US officials.
Hundreds of fans were leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the 21,000-capacity arena when Abedi allegedly set off the IED.
Nearly two dozen people were killed and 119 others were injured, with some reportedly losing body parts in the blast.
The Conservatives, Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrats have all confirmed that campaigning in the general election will been suspended on Tuesday.
Prime minister Theresa May said: “We are working to establish the full details of what happened in Manchester.
“All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected.”
May will chair a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee at around 09:00 this morning.
British Transport Police said the explosion was in the foyer of the arena.
The area connects with Victoria train and tram station, a major hub on the northern edge of the city centre.
Shortly after the blast the station was closed and all trains cancelled.
The explosion occurred shortly after Grande left the stage at the arena.
It is the largest indoor venue in the city with a concert capacity of around 18,000.
Police stand behind a cordoned off area near the Manchester Arena in Manchester, Britain, on Tuesday, the morning after an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert killed at least 22 people and injured 59 others. Photo by Nigel Roddis/EPA
Police say they believe Monday night’s attack, the deadliest on British soil in 12 years, was carried out by one man who had died at the scene.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, saying in a statement published on its social media channels that “one of the caliphate’s soldiers placed bombs among the crowds”.
The country has been hit by a number of other terror strikes in recent years:
– 2017: Westminster Bridge attack –
March 22: Five people are killed and more than 50 are wounded when a man rams his car into pedestrians on Westminster bridge in London before crashing into the barriers surrounding parliament and then stabbing a police officer to death.
The attacker, 52-year-old British Muslim convert Khalid Mahmood, is shot dead by police at the scene. Investigators describe the lone-wolf attack as “Islamist related terrorism”.
– 2016: Lawmaker murdered –
June 16: British Labour lawmaker Jo Cox is shot and stabbed to death by a pro-Nazi sympathiser just days before the historic vote to leave the EU. Far-right white nationalist Thomas Mair is later sentenced to life in prison for her murder.
– 2015: London underground stabbing –
December 5: A paranoid schizophrenic stabs two people at London’s Leytonstone Underground station, two days after Britain’s first air strikes on the jihadist Islamic State group in Syria. The knifeman, Somali-born Muhaydin Mire, 30, is sentenced to life behind bars. The police say the incident is a “terrorist” attack.
Prime minister Theresa May praised the response of 400 police and many more paramedics (Photo: PA)
– 2013: British soldier slain –
May 22: British soldier Lee Rigby, 25, is hacked to death by two Britons of Nigerian descent near an army barracks in London. Witnesses say the attackers encouraged them to film the scene as they shouted “Allah Akbar” (“God is greatest”) before being injured and arrested by police. In February 2014, Michael Adebolajo, 29, is sentenced to life in prison for the murder while Michael Adebowale, 22, receives a minimum of 45 years behind bars.
– 2009: Northern Ireland shootings –
March 2009 sees a sudden resurgence of political violence in Northern Ireland with two soldiers shot dead outside their barracks by republican militants as they went to collect a pizza delivery, the first such slaying since 1997. Two days later a police officer is shot dead by a different paramilitary republican faction.
– 2007: Glasgow airport attack –
June 30: Two men in a burning vehicle ram into the main terminal of Glasgow Airport in Scotland. An Indian driving the car suffers serious burns and later dies. The passenger, Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla, 29, is jailed in December for at least 32 years for plotting to murder hundreds of people.
– 2005: Suicide bombers hit London transport –
July 7: Four British suicide bombers inspired by Al-Qaeda attack London’s Underground network and a bus during rush hour, killing 52 people, as well as themselves, and wounding 700.
It was the deadliest attack on British soil since a Pan Am airliner blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing a total of 270 people including 11 on the ground, in 1988.
The London attack took place just a day after the city was awarded the 2012 Olympics.
