U.K. Is Investigating Missed Signals Over Manchester Bomber
By CEYLAN YEGINSUMAY 29, 2017
LONDON — Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, is investigating its response to warnings from the public about the threat posed by Salman Abedi, the suicide bomber who killed 22 people
and wounded dozens more in an attack at a crowded pop concert in Manchester, England, last week.
It is highly unusual for the British authorities to publicly confirm the existence of internal investigations into possible security lapses,
but the British home secretary, Amber Rudd, welcomed the MI5 review on Monday, saying it was "the right first step" in learning from the Manchester attack.
The police released a new image of the bomber on Monday
that showed him wheeling a blue suitcase through Manchester city center days before he carried out the attack.
" he said in a statement. that We believe Abedi was in possession of this case in the days before the attack at Manchester Arena on Monday 22 May,
A British government spokesman said on Monday that the agency had opened two internal investigations last week, amid reports
that the British authorities had been alerted to Mr. Abedi’s extremist views at least three times before the bombing.
Mr. Abedi, a 22-year-old Manchester resident of Libyan descent, had previously been flagged by MI5 as a "person of interest,"
a law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigations are continuing.
