Manchester attacker's younger brother arrested in Libya

People attend a candlelit vigil to mourn the victims of Manchester terror attack at Albert Square in Manchester. Picture: Xinhua/Han Yan

People attend a candlelit vigil to mourn the victims of Manchester terror attack at Albert Square in Manchester. Picture: Xinhua/Han Yan

Published May 24, 2017

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*Article has been updated

Tripoli – The younger brother of the suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert venue in Manchester has been arrested in Tripoli on suspicion of links with Islamic State, a spokesman for a local counter-terrorism force said on Wednesday.

The force, known as Rada, detained Hashem Abedi, who was born in 1997, on Tuesday evening, spokesman Ahmed Bin Salem told Reuters.

Hashem Abedi had been in touch with attacker Salman Abedi, Bin Salem said.

"We have evidence that he is involved in Daesh (Islamic State) with his brother. We have been following him for more than one month and a half," Bin Salem said.

"He was in contact with his brother and he knew about the attack."

Salman Abedi, 22, was born in Britain to Libyan parents. Britain's interior minister said earlier that he had recently returned from Libya and had likely not acted alone.

Abedi's father Ramadan lives in Tripoli.

British police identified 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the suspected suicide bomber at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, northern England, on Monday.

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