Manchester attack: Everything we know about suicide bomber Salman Abedi

British-born attacker believed to have
visited Libya prior to bombing Manchester Arena

Profile

Abedi was born in 1994 in Manchester, the second of four
children – three boys and a girl.

His parents, security guard Ramadan and his wife Samia
Tabbal, were part of a community of Libyans who found refuge in the
city after fleeing Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

Abedi was educated in local schools before studying
business management at Salford University, although he later
dropped out.

Following the overthrow of Gaddafi, the family reportedly
spent much of their time in Libya, with Abedi and his 23-year-old
brother Ismail usually remaining in Manchester.

However, Abedi is thought to have returned from a visit to
the country days before carrying out Monday’s suicide bombing,
which left 22 dead.

“He went to Libya three weeks ago and came back recently, like
days ago,” a former classmate told The Times.

Police are now investigating his links in the country,
which is home to many militant Islamist groups.

A family friend, however, told the Times he believed Abedi
was “radicalised by mosques in south Manchester” rather than
jihadis abroad. “Many Libyan youths started to become radicalised
after 2011,” he said.

This morning, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, said Abedi was
known to intelligence services “up to a point” and that it was
unlikely he had acted alone.

Three men have since been arrested in south Manchester, in
addition to a 23-year-old man already being questioned by
police.

Members of the local Libyan community expressed surprise
that the young man they knew as a quiet and withdrawn son of a
devoutly religious family was responsible for the
attack.

“He is such an unlikely person to have done this,” a family
friend told The Guardian. He added that Abedi’s father
would be “distraught” at his son’s actions.

Ramadan Abedi is a well known figure at Didsbury mosque,
where he used to sing the call to prayer.

“He was always very confrontational with jihadi ideology,”
the family friend added. “The family will be
devastated.”

However, a neighbour in the Whalley Range area of south
Manchester, where the Abedi family lived, told the Daily Telegraph she noticed Salman “acting
strangely” in recent months, including chanting Arabic prayers
loudly in the street.

An imam at the mosque told the Guardian about an incident
in 2015 that suggested Abedi’s jihadist sympathies were already
formed then.

Mohammed Saeed said he had been giving a
sermon condemning Islamic State and Libyan terror group Ansar
al-Sharia when “Salman showed me a face of hate.”

He added: “He was showing me hatred.”