TERROR IN THE U.K., DAY 2

The family of the Manchester suicide bomber have links to terror networks around the world, it has been revealed. Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured at least 119 more when he detonated a bomb on Monday night as children were piling out of Manchester Arena having watched Ariana Grande. His father Ramadan and younger brother Hashem were in custody in Libya last night after being arrested by counter-terror police. Detectives said Hashem had links to ISIS and was planning to carry out a terror attack in Tripoli. Hashem was accused of having known about his brother's murderous plans for more than a month, while it emerged his father had been a revolutionary fighter who publicly voiced support for an Al Qaeda-linked group in Syria. A third relative, Abedi's older brother Ismail, was arrested in Manchester. It is not known what his involvement, if any, was. He was once reported to a counter- terrorism unit after concerns were raised by members of the Muslim community. Last night, attention focused on how the bomber had been allowed to slip through the net. Key warnings about his descent into jihadism were apparently overlooked.   Daily Mail


 “In suburban Manchester, a search for what might have motivated the attacker,” by Rick Noack and Souad Mekhennet: “With its red brick buildings, large villas and green lawns, the Fallowfield area of southern Manchester might appear to be an unlikely location ... But on Tuesday, police forces launched at least three operations (here) in connection with the devastating attack four miles away in the north of Manchester. In other communities at the center of recent terrorism investigations — such as the Molenbeek district of Brussels and some Parisian suburbs — authorities have openly acknowledged problems with Islamist extremism. Poverty, crime and high unemployment in these areas have long played into the hands of radicals, they say. Manchester is different. Suburbs such as Fallowfield are mostly culturally or ethnically diverse and wealthy, with little to suggest that neighborhoods there have dealt with extremism for years. ... More recently, however, authorities have largely lost the ability to monitor terrorism suspects during their visits to mosques or community centers. Instead, groups of friends or acquaintances are meeting in apartments, making it nearly impossible for Britain’s stretched security services to monitor suspects, a dynamic that could explain the seemingly sudden emergence of groups of radicalized individuals."