Manchester attack: Evacuations as police tracking Salman Abedi's movements investigate parked car

Police appealing for information on white Nissan Micra and anyone using it

Lizzie Dearden
Friday 02 June 2017 11:41 BST
Police and evacuated students and residents at a cordon in Rusholme, Manchester, on 2 June Reuters
Police and evacuated students and residents at a cordon in Rusholme, Manchester, on 2 June Reuters

Police in Manchester have seized a suspicious car possibly linked to arena bomber Salman Abedi.

Greater Manchester Police said the white Nissan Micra "may be significant to the investigation" as the operation unfolded on Friday.

Authorities were urging people to keep away from a large security cordon around the scene in Rusholme Place, where the bomb squad was seen arriving shortly before 4pm. It left just under two hours later.

At about 8pm a 100m cordon around the Micra was lifted and the vehicle was seized.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “This is potentially a significant development in the investigation. The car is a white Nissan Micra that has been located at Devell House, not far from Banff Road.

“We appreciate the road closures and evacuation have led to disruption and we would like to thank local people for their understanding while this police activity has been on-going.

“We are also really grateful for the public’s continued help in what is a very fast moving investigation and again we appeal for the public to contact us with any information, however small you believe it may be, about Abedi’s movements.”

The car was outside a block of flats in Rusholme, the area where Abedi returned repeatedly carrying a blue suitcase in the run-up to the bombing.

Police stand in front of a cordon in Rusholme, Manchester, on 2 June

The Ronald McDonald House centre for the families of child patients at Manchester Royal Infirmary was evacuated, as well as surrounding homes and student accommodation.

The Duke of Cambridge also met volunteers at Manchester Cathedral and made a private visit to victims and their families at Manchester Children's Hospital.

Police are attempting to piece together the bomber's movements from when he flew back from Libya on 18 May and the attack four days later.

Prince William visits the headquarters of Greater Manchester Police in Manchester on 2 June

New CCTV images have been released showing Abedi moving around Manchester during the period, sometimes carrying a blue suitcase investigators also want to trace.

On Thursday, Det Ch Supt Jackson said he purchased parts for the bomb after arriving back in the UK, adding: “What we still need to understand is if he had any of the bomb parts in his possession before he went out of the country.

“This is why we are tracking his movements so carefully.”

The detective confirmed that searches in the Banff Road area earlier this week were sparked by information given by members of the public, but despite house-to-house enquiries, police are “still not satisfied why Abedi went there”.

“It is vital we understand exactly where he went there and who he spoke to in these final days before the attack,” he added.

“We need your help as we piece together what happened in the lead up to the attack and if Abedi was helped by anyone.”

Police previously confirmed that the attacker purchased many of the “core components” himself and made many movements alone in the four days before the attack.

But investigators are still probing the possibility of a wider network behind the bombing, which killed 22 people and injured dozens more at Manchester Arena.

Two of Abedi’s cousins claimed they had no idea about his plans or his “secret” radicalisation.

Isaac and Abz Forjani were arrested during police searches in Fallowfield following the attack but released without charge after a week of questioning.

“The fact that the person that did this is related to us by blood is something that's going to stay with me for the rest of my life,” Isaac, 24, told the BBC.

After growing up with his cousin and travelling to Libya as a family, he said he did not understand the motivation for Abedi’s attack.

“I don't understand where that ideology comes from, I don't understand what made him do what he did,” Isaac added.

The two brothers said they last saw Abedi three months before the bombing, when he got his hair trimmed at Abz’ barber shop in Moss Side.

Abz described his cousin as a “bubbly person that always acted normal”, telling ITV they once had a lot in common, playing football together and “experiencing the party life”.

“People have seen it as a big network that we’re involved in but it’s nothing like that,” he said, accusing Abedi of “betraying the family”.

“I believe it was all done by one man who developed thoughts in the last year [who] developed some sort of thoughts in the past few years which he kept to himself, secretly to himself,” he added.

“He never shared it with any members of the family - if he would of, we could have done something to stop that happening.”

Abedi’s acquaintances said he was previously linked to gangs, smoked cannabis and drank but came back from Libya a “completely different guy” six years ago and “suddenly turned religious”, expressing extremist sentiments and hanging a black Islamist flag from his home.

Greater Manchester Police said that 10 men, aged between 18 and 44, remain in custody on suspicion of terror offences.

Anyone with information is asked to call the anti-terror hotline anonymously on 0800 789321 or send images and footage to police by visiting the UK Police Image Appeal website.

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