Manchester attack: Police release new photo of suicide bomber Salman Abedi as they hunt his missing blue suitcase

GMP is urging anyone with details about the suitcase to get in touch

Police released an image of the bomber carrying a distinctive blue suitcase (AP)

Police have released new images of Salman Abedi carrying a blue suitcase in the days before the deadly Manchester bombing.

Members of the public are being asked to contact police immediately if they see the piece of luggage.

The image, released by Greater Manchester Police (GMP), shows the suicide bomber with the hip-high case in the city centre on 22 May.

Issuing a new appeal for information, including for any new photos or video footage of the attack that has not yet been passed to investigators, GMP said they were particularly interested in Abedi’s whereabouts in the four days prior to the attack.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said they had no evidence to suggest the suitcase is dangerous but warned people to be “cautious”.

"We believe Abedi was in possession of this case in the days before the attack at Manchester Arena on Monday 22 May,” he said.

"I want to stress that this is a different item than the one he used in the attack.

"We have no reason to believe the case and its contents contain anything dangerous, but would ask people to be cautious.

"The public should not approach the case if they see it but contact police immediately on 999."

The latest image of Manchester bomber Salman Abedi (PA/GMP)

As well as the CCTV image of Abedi, detectives have released a picture of a replica case, as they continue to piece together the terrorist's movements in the lead-up to the attack.

It is known that the 22-year-old visited the Wilmslow Road area of Manchester and was also seen in Manchester city centre with the wheeled case.

GMP is urging anyone with details about the suitcase to get in touch.

It is not known if police activity around a tip beside the M66 motorway near Bury on Monday was linked to the missing suitcase. A spokeswoman for GMP refused to comment on any link between the two when approached by The Independent.

Police officers stood on guard at the entrance to the Viridor site and also at a public footpath around it.

One worker in a fluorescent orange coat could be seen beside a man in a white boiler suit inspecting waste close to a large digger which was sifting through material.

It comes as anti-terror police raided more homes on Monday as the search for the network behind the suicide bombing continued.

Early morning raids were carried out at a house in Manchester, along with searches carried out in Chester and Shoreham-by-Sea, on the south coast of England.

A 23-year-old was held in the small seaside town on suspicion of terror offences in the early hours of Monday morning, GMP said.

As of Monday evening, 14 men were being held in custody in connection with the Manchester Arena attack.

The bank holiday raids followed a flurry of police activity in Manchester over the weekend, with the arrest of a 25-year-old man in Old Trafford and a 19-year-old man in Gorton.

Police have been working round-the-clock since Abedi killed 22 people, seven of them children, and injured more than 100 in the worst terrorist atrocity since the 7 July bombings in 2005.